Cross-linked, ETFE-derived and radiation grafted membranes for anion exchange membrane fuel cell applications

摘要

To develop a series of cross-linked anion exchange membranes for application in fuel cells, poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) films was radiation grafted with vinyl benzyl chloride (VBC), followed by quaternization and crosslinking with 1,4-Diazabicyclo[2,2,2] octane (DABCO), alkylation with p-Xylylenedichloride (DCX), and quaternization again with trimethylamine (TMA). These anion exchange membranes were characterized in terms of water uptake, ion-exchange capacity, ionic conductivity as well as thermal stability. The chemical structures of the membranes were examined by FT-IR. The anion conductivity of the resulting alkaline anion exchange membrane is as high as 0.039 S cm~(-1) at 30 ℃ in deionized water and the ionic conductivity increases with the increasing of temperature from 20 to 80 ℃. The membrane is stable after being treated by 10 M potassium hydroxide solution at 60 ℃ for 120 h .The fuel cell performance with the final AAEM obtained in a H_2/ O_2 single fuel cell at 40 ℃ with this AAEM was 48 mW cm~(-2) at a current density of 69 mA cm~(-2).