The study of an alternative monomer system to styrene for radiation grafted fuel cell membranes was carried out.Polymer films were synthesized by grafting of two vinyl monomers onto pre-irradiated poly(tetrafluoroetylene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (FEP).The grafted films were obtained with diverse compositions and graft levels.After introduction of sulfonic acid groups,membranes have an IEC (ion exchange capacity) value of more than 1 mEq/g with conductivity of up to 0.1 S/cm (at room temperature,in fully swollen state).Fuel cell tests have shown that this novel membrane is more stable towards oxidation conditions in a fuel cell than styrene grafted and sulfonated membranes.Post mortem studies of fuel cell tested membranes were also carried out,using FTIR spectroscopy and acid-base titration techniques.
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