POLYETHYLENE BASED PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANES CONTAINING PE BACKBONE AND SULFONATED POLY(ARYLENE ETHERSULFONE) SIDE CHAINS FOR FUEL CELL APPLICATIONS

摘要

Since the discovery of Nafion~R by DuPont in the 1960s, it has been extensively studied and applied in proton exchange membranes (PEMs). Due to its high conductivity and good chemical and thermal stability, Nafion became a state-of-the-art material in fuel cell applications. However, Nafion also exhibits many shortfalls that hinder its large-scale, commercial adaptation, including high cost, limited processibility, poor selectivity (methanol crossover), reduced conductivity at high temperature and low humidity conditions.