Comparison of the Thermal Behavior and Morphology of Two Thermoplastic Vulcanizates, Potential Candidate Materials for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Components

摘要

The focus of this work was to explore the potential of two thermoplasticrnvulcanizates (TPV) to act as effective seals/gaskets in polymer electrolyternmembrane (PEM) fuel cell systems for stationary, automotive and portablernpower applications. PTFE-based seals/gaskets, which are the current state-of-the-art, havernrecognized economic and engineering limitations. Therefore, other classes of materials, such asrnTPVs, have been under investigation at Battelle. Specific to this work, two specific grades ofrnethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM)/ polypropylene (PP) TPVs were investigated.rnThese materials, Santoprene~? 181-55 and Nexprene~? 1255A, exhibit the same Shore hardnessrnand are considered to be interchangeable on that basis. We have examined the thermal behaviorrnand morphology of these two materials and found that they are different. This paper highlightsrntheir differences with regard to their thermal behavior and morphology.