Crosslinked Sulfonated Polyphenylsulfone-Vinylon (CSPPSU-vinylon) Membranes for PEM Fuel Cells from SPPSU and Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA)

Je-Deok Kim; Satoshi Matsushita; Kenji Tamura

doi:10.3390/polym12061354

Crosslinked Sulfonated Polyphenylsulfone-Vinylon (CSPPSU-vinylon) Membranes for PEM Fuel Cells from SPPSU and Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA)

Polymers (Basel). 2020 Jun 16;12(6):1354. doi: 10.3390/polym12061354.

Authors

Je-Deok Kim^{1

2

3}, Satoshi Matsushita¹, Kenji Tamura³

Affiliations

¹ Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Group, Global Research Center for Environmental and Energy Based on Nanomaterials Science (GREEN),Tsukuba Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
² Hydrogen Production Materials Group, Center for Green Research on Energy and Environmental Materials, Tsukuba Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
³ Functional Clay Materials Group, Research Center for Functional Materials, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.

Abstract

A crosslinked sulfonated polyphenylsulfone (CSPPSU) polymer and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were thermally crosslinked; then, a CSPPSU-vinylon membrane was synthesized using a formalization reaction. Its use as an electrolyte membrane for fuel cells was investigated. PVA was synthesized from polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), using a saponification reaction. The CSPPSU-vinylon membrane was synthesized by the addition of PVA (5 wt%, 10 wt%, 20 wt%), and its chemical, mechanical, conductivity, and fuel cell properties were studied. The conductivity of the CSPPSU-10vinylon membrane is higher than that of the CSPPSU membrane, and a conductivity of 66 mS/cm was obtained at 120 °C and 90% RH (relative humidity). From a fuel cell evaluation at 80 °C, the CSPPSU-10vinylon membrane has a higher current density than CSPPSU and Nafion212 membranes, in both high (100% RH) and low humidification (60% RH). By using a CSPPSU-vinylon membrane instead of a CSPPSU membrane, the conductivity and fuel cell performance improved.

Keywords: CSPPSU-vinylon; PEMFCs; PPSU; PVA; SPPSU.