JP2005251466A - Fuel cell electrolyte, and fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel cell electrolyte using normal temperature molten salt excellent in hydrogen transfer capability. <P>SOLUTION: The fuel cell electrolyte is composed of normal temperature molten salt containing anion shown by (HX)<SB>y</SB>X<SP>-</SP>, wherein X denotes one of 17 group element, and y is a positive integer. Especially, EMI(HF)<SB>2.3</SB>F forming an onium salt together with a cation is excellent in the hydrogen transfer capability, therefore it is suitably used for the electrolyte for the fuel cell electrolyte. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrolyte for a fuel cell comprising an ambient temperature molten salt containing an anion having a specific structure, and a fuel cell using the fuel cell electrolyte as an electrolyte.

  In general, a perfluorocarbon sulfonic acid (PFSA) membrane or the like is used as an electrolyte membrane of a conventional polymer electrolyte fuel cell, but water contained in the PFSA membrane serves as a proton conduction path. Cannot be used under dry conditions or operating conditions above 100 ° C or below freezing. In order to improve proton conductivity in such a dry state, an attempt is made to achieve high temperature operation by adding a proton conductivity imparting agent to an organic polymer (Patent Document 1), and a silica-dispersed perfluorosulfonic acid membrane is used. A method (Patent Document 2), a method using an inorganic-organic composite film (Patent Document 3), a method using a phosphate-doped graft film (Patent Document 4), and the like are performed.

  On the other hand, various devices have also been tried using room temperature molten salts as electrolytes. A room temperature molten salt has (i) no or very low vapor pressure, (ii) non-flammability or flame retardant, (iii) ionic conductivity, (iv) higher decomposition voltage than water, (V) It has excellent characteristics as an electrolyte such as a liquid temperature range wider than that of water. These characteristics are suitable for fuel cell applications where high temperature of 100 ° C. or higher and non-humidified operation is desired, and proton conductors with specific compositions have been developed as those that can be used in electrochemical devices such as batteries and electrolysis. ing. For example, there is a proton conductor comprising an ionic liquid and a proton donor, the ionic liquid comprising a quaternary ammonium and an anion, and the proton donor being a Bronsted acid, which is used as an electrolyte for a fuel cell ( Patent Document 5).

  A preferred ionic liquid in Patent Document 5 is EMITFSI, and its structure is shown in the following formula.

  Moreover, the proton donor used suitably by this patent document 5 is HTfO, The structure is shown in a following formula.

In the system using the ionic liquid and Bronsted acid shown in Patent Document 5, HTfO acts as a proton donor and conducts protons, and the proton conductivity at this time is about 10 ⁻² Scm ⁻¹ at room temperature. It is said that.

  On the other hand, even in a room temperature molten salt to which a proton donor such as Bronsted acid is not added, proton conductivity has been confirmed for those having a certain structural formula. For example, proton conductivity has been confirmed for N, N-HImTFSI shown below (Non-Patent Document 1).

Furthermore, proton conductivity has also been confirmed in N, N-HImBF ₄ shown below (Non-Patent Document 1).

The room temperature molten salt does not contain a proton donor such as HTfO as in Patent Document 5 and does not contain a proton in the system, but is caused to conduct proton conduction. The mechanism of proton conductivity is considered to be that H bonded to N of the imidazolium cation has self-dissociation ability and exhibits proton conductivity. The neutral room temperature molten salt also has a proton conductivity of about room temperature. 10 ⁻² Scm ⁻¹ .

In addition, a fluorohydrogenate salt having a specific structure which is a room temperature molten salt is used as an electrolyte for an electric double layer capacitor (Patent Document 6). An electric double layer capacitor is an electrode element composed of a positive electrode and a negative electrode arranged opposite to each other with a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode using active fibers, a molded product of activated carbon particles, a coating film of activated carbon particles, and the like. The electrode element includes an electrolyte, and charges are stored in the electric double layer generated at the interface between the polarizable electrode and the electrolyte.
JP 2001-35509 A JP-A-6-1111827 JP 2000-90946 A JP 2001-213987 A JP 2003-123791 A JP 2002-75797 A New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization 2002 Industrial Technology Research Grants Research Results Report-Development of Composite Electrolytes for Medium Temperature Fuel Cells Operating under No Humidity Conditions

However, the proton conductivity in the system in which HTfO is added to EMITFSI shown in Patent Document 5 and the N, N-HIm-based room temperature molten salt shown in Non-Patent Document 1 is 10 ⁻² Scm ⁻¹ (room temperature) as described above. In order to further improve the fuel cell performance, an improvement in proton conductivity is required.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrolyte for a fuel cell using a room temperature molten salt that is more excellent in proton conductivity.

  As a result of detailed examination of the room temperature molten salt and its proton conductivity, the present inventors have found that the fluorohydrogen salt described in Patent Document 6 and used as an electrolyte for capacitors has hydrogen transfer characteristics. The present inventors have found that the present invention has suitable performance as a room temperature molten salt for use in fuel cell electrolytes, and have completed the present invention.

  The room temperature molten salt used in the present invention is suitable as an electrolyte for a polymer solid electrolyte fuel cell because it can exhibit hydrogen transfer characteristics without being affected by the dry state of the solid electrolyte membrane.

  In particular, since the electrolyte is a room temperature molten salt, it is incombustible or flame retardant, has a higher decomposition voltage than water, and has a wider liquid temperature range than water, so a wider operating range can be ensured than before.

  When the fuel cell of the present invention is used, it can be suitably used as an automobile fuel cell.

  The first of the present invention is an electrolyte for a fuel cell composed of a room temperature molten salt containing an anion represented by the following formula (1).

(In Formula (1), X is any of group 17 elements, and y represents a positive real number.)
The fuel cell electrolyte of the present invention is composed of a room temperature molten salt containing an anion having a specific structure. The room temperature molten salt that can be most suitably used is EMI (HF) _2.3 F, and the structural formula thereof is shown below.

As shown in the above formula, the room temperature molten salt used in the present invention has (HX) _y X ⁻ (wherein X is a group 17 element and y is a positive real number) as an anion. Contains. In the exemplified EMI (HF) _2.3 F, the anion forms an onium salt with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (EMI), which is a cation. In the EMI (HF) _2.3 F described above, (HF) ₂ F ⁻ having a coordination number 2 of HF and (HF) ₃ F ⁻ having a coordination number 3 coexisting at a ratio of 7: 3 with respect to fluoride ions. doing. As a result of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, only two types of average structures have been confirmed, and therefore it is estimated that a fast exchange reaction of HF occurs between these two types of anions (J. Electrochemical). Society, 149 (1) D1-D6 (2002)).

The EMI (HF) _2.3 F does not have a single proton in the component, as shown in its structure. In addition, since the two N positions of the EMI cation are not H but an alkyl group is bonded, for example, unlike N, N-HImTFSI and N, N-HImBF ₄ described in Non-Patent Document 1, The development of conduction cannot be predicted. For this reason, it is considered that there is no proton conductivity, and it has only been used in an electrolyte for an electric double capacitor for the purpose of charge accumulation. Surprisingly, however, EMI (HF) _2.3 F has hydrogen transfer properties and has been found to be suitable as a room temperature molten salt for fuel cell electrolyte applications.

Although the principle of hydrogen transfer characteristics by EMI (HF) _2.3 F is not clear, it is presumed to be due to the following mechanism. That is, since EMI (HF) _2.3 F does not contain H ⁺ in its components and H that self-dissociates is not bonded to N of the imidazole ring, the reaction at both electrodes is represented by the following reaction formula. Is done.

This is different from the mechanism in which a cation (tertiary or quaternary ammonium cation such as H ⁺ or imidazolium cation) is used as a proton conducting medium, and an anion fluorohydrogen anion is used as a hydrogen conducting medium. It is a mechanism. Therefore, since it is not in the form of proton conduction, hereinafter, the terms hydrogen mobility and hydrogen mobility are used in the present specification, but these terms correspond to proton conductivity and proton conductivity before this. Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

  The anion used in the present invention is represented by the above formula (1), X is any group 17 element, and y is a positive real number. Preferred X is F, Cl, Br, or I among group 17 elements.

Anion of the formula (1) is more preferably _(HF) y F ^- it is. This is because the hydrogen conductivity is particularly excellent. In this case, _y in (HF) _y F ⁻ is 1.0 to 2.3.

Suitable cations for forming the onium salt include tetramethylammonium, methyltriethylammonium, dimethyldiethylammonium, trimethylethylammonium, tetraethylammonium, tetrabutylammonium, benzyltrimethylammonium, 1,1-dimethylpyrrolidinium, 1- Methyl-1-ethylpyrrolidinium, 1,1-dimethylpiperidinium, 1-ethylpyridinium, 1,3-dimethylimidazolium, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium, 1,3-dimethylbenzimidazolium, 1,3-dimethylimidazolinium, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolinium (EMI ⁺ ), 1-ethyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolinium, 1,2,3,4-tetramethylimidazolinium Etc. It is, but is not limited to this. In the present invention, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium can be particularly preferably used.

The most preferred room temperature molten salt is represented by EMI (HF) _2.3 F, with 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium as a cation and fluorohydrogenate ((HF) _y F ⁻ ) as an anion. is there. Specific examples include 1,3-dimethylimidazolium salt, 1,3,4-trimethylimidazolium salt, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium salt, and the most suitable is a room temperature molten salt 1- Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium salt.

As an example of a method for producing a room temperature molten salt used in the present invention, a method for producing EMI (HF) _2.3 F will be described.

First, EMICl is put into a reaction vessel made of perfluoroalkoxide polymer (PFA) and reacted with a large excess of hydrogen fluoride (HF) at a temperature of 273 to 298 K (0 to 25 ° C.). HF is preferably dehydrated by coexisting with distillation, K ₂ NiF ₆ or the like, and EMICl is also preferably highly purified and dehydrated. This operation causes the following metathesis reaction to produce EMI (HF) _y F.

Excess HF and by-product HCl in EMI (HF) _y F are removed by evacuation or purging with an inert gas at 1.3 kPa for 2 to 4 days at room temperature. Of room temperature molten salt EMI (HF) _2.3 F is obtained.

This EMI (HF) _2.3 F has high ionic conductivity (0.1 Scm ⁻¹ , 25 ° C.), low viscosity (4.9 cP), wide liquidus temperature range (−65 to 120 ° C.), and even in air It is a stable room temperature molten salt.

It should be noted that the coordination number y of HF in (HF) _y F ⁻ is controlled between 1.0 and 2.3 by changing the temperature condition at the time of evacuation or purging with an inert gas. Can do.

  Specifically, when evacuation is performed at 100 ° C., y = 1.3, when evacuation is performed at 85 ° C., y = 1.5, when evacuation is performed at 70 ° C. It can be set as y = 1.7. The evacuation time can be appropriately changed according to the amount of room temperature molten salt to be generated and the heating temperature for evacuation. In the fuel cell electrolyte of the present invention, the cation species and anion species of the ambient temperature molten salt are not limited to one, and a plurality of cations and anions may be used in combination.

A second aspect of the present invention is a fuel cell using the fuel cell electrolyte. EMI (HF) _2.3 F used in the present invention has a hydrogen mobility of 6.7 × 10 ⁻² S / cm, as shown in Examples described later. This is larger than the value of proton conductivity at room temperature of the normal temperature molten salt system reported so far. As described above, the room temperature molten salt is particularly excellent in hydrogen transfer characteristics, and therefore can be suitably used as an electrolyte for a fuel cell. Further, the room temperature molten salt may be fixed by any method.

  For example, a method of impregnating a PFSA film, a polystyrene sulfonic acid film, or other porous member with the room temperature molten salt, mixing the room temperature molten salt, a polymer monomer highly compatible with the molten salt, and a polymerization initiator. There are various methods such as a method of forming a film, a method of forming a composite polyelectrolyte using other monomers, a polymerization of anionic species of either anions or cations, and filling of a porous room temperature molten salt composite polymer . Examples of the polymer monomer include a mixture of methyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, and examples of the polymerization initiator include azbisisobutyronitrile, benzoyl peroxide, and dibenzoyl disulfide. The molar ratio of the polymer monomer to the ionic liquid is preferably 10: 1 to 3: 7.

More specifically, 2-by hydroxy causing radical polymerization of ethyl methacrylate with EMI _{(HF) 2.3} in F, poly-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and EMI _{(HF) 2.3} F composite polymer of It is also possible to synthesize an electrolyte (Solid State Ionics, 149, 295-298 (2002)) and use it as an electrolyte for a fuel cell.

  The fuel cell of the present invention can be prepared by using the above-mentioned immobilized electrolyte instead of the conventional fixed polymer membrane, and the type of electrode (anode and cathode) catalyst, gas diffusion layer, etc. are the conventional fuel. A battery component may be employed.

  EXAMPLES Next, although an Example is given and this invention is demonstrated concretely, these Examples do not restrict | limit this invention at all.

(Example 1)
1-Ethyl 3-methylimidazolium chloride (EMICl) (purity 98.5%, water content 1.4%) was dried under vacuum at a temperature of 60 ° C. and 130 kPa. The dried EMICl was then dissolved in acetonitrile in a dry atmosphere (H ₂ O concentration <10 ppm) using a glove box. When complete dissolution was confirmed, and ethyl acetate was added to this solution, EMICl recrystallized. Acetonitrile and ethyl acetate were removed and again dried at 60 ° C. under a vacuum of 130 kPa for 2-4 hours. The obtained EMICl was dissolved again in acetonitrile and recrystallized. This operation was repeated 4 times to remove moisture and impurities in EMICl. The EMICl thus obtained was charged into a reaction vessel made of perfluoroalkoxide polymer (PFA), and reacted with a large excess of hydrogen fluoride (HF) at 0 to 25 ° C. Note that HF was dehydrated by distillation. This produced EMI (HF) _2.3 F.

(Example 2)
Hydrogen transfer characteristics were evaluated using EMI (HF) _2.3 F obtained in Example 1.

The electrochemical cell shown in FIG. 1 was used. The electrochemical cell is a U-shaped tube composed of a PFA tube for holding a room temperature molten salt, a hydrogen electrode that causes an oxidation reaction of hydrogen by bubbling hydrogen into a portion immersed in a room temperature molten salt of a platinum black electrode, Similarly, it consists of a potentiogalvanostat that can arbitrarily control the oxygen electrode that causes a reduction reaction of oxygen by bubbling oxygen into a portion of the platinum black electrode immersed in room temperature molten salt, and the potential and voltage of both electrodes. The potentiogalvanostat has four terminals, working electrode 1, working electrode 2, counter electrode, and reference electrode. In this measurement, the hydrogen electrode is substituted for the reference electrode. Working electrodes 1 and 2 were connected to an oxygen electrode and a hydrogen electrode. The experimental results obtained using this experimental apparatus are shown below. 2, 3 and 4 show the results of measuring the voltage between both electrodes at a temperature of 25 ° C. by applying current values of 0.05 mA, 0.1 mA and 0.5 mA to the cell, respectively. 2, 3, and 4, all current values converged to a certain voltage value in about 5 minutes. When EMI (HF) _2.3 F was used as an electrolyte, stable power generation was possible.

(Example 3)
In order to investigate in detail the polarization in both electrodes, an experiment was conducted as a three-electrode system using the electrochemical cells shown in FIGS.

  The electrochemical cell shown in FIG. 5 is a U-shaped tube composed of a PFA tube for holding a room temperature molten salt, and a hydrogen oxidation reaction is performed by bubbling and polarizing hydrogen at a portion immersed in a room temperature molten salt of a platinum black electrode. Set the reference potential for controlling the potential of the hydrogen electrode, the oxygen electrode that causes oxygen reduction reaction by bubbling oxygen into the part where the platinum black electrode is immersed in room temperature molten salt, and polarizing it. It consists of a potentiostat capable of arbitrarily controlling the potential between the electrode, reference electrode and working electrode. The potentiostat is provided with four terminals: a working electrode 1, a working electrode 2, a counter electrode, and a reference electrode. In this measurement, when obtaining the polarization curve of the hydrogen electrode, the working electrode was the hydrogen electrode and the counter electrode was the oxygen electrode. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when obtaining the polarization curve of the oxygen electrode, the working electrode was an oxygen electrode and the counter electrode was a hydrogen electrode. In order to reduce the error due to the solution resistance, a reference electrode was provided adjacent to the working electrode in both measurements.

  The results are shown in FIG. The oxygen polarization curve is indicated by a black circle (line 1), and the hydrogen polarization curve is indicated by a black square (line 2). In FIG. 7, the steady voltage (line 3) in the two-electrode system at the respective current values obtained from FIGS.

  From FIG. 7, the hydrogen mobility of the room temperature molten salt was calculated. The following potentials are all based on the redox potential of hydrogen.

The reduction potential of oxygen at each current value is EO ₂ , and the oxidation potential of hydrogen is EH ₂ . These correspond to the oxygen polarization curve (line 1) and the hydrogen polarization curve (line 2). Further, the potential difference between the hydrogen electrode and the oxygen electrode obtained at each current value obtained by the two-electrode method is defined as ER. This corresponds to the x plot (line 3). The following formulas are established for these values.

  ED is the difference between the hydrogen-oxygen electrode potential obtained by the two-electrode method and the hydrogen-oxygen electrode potential obtained by the three-electrode method, and is a loss due to the solution resistance. A line 4 shown in FIG. 7 is a result obtained by calculating ED (V) from the equation (1) and performing linear approximation. Here, the following relationship is established between the current value I and the hydrogen transfer resistance R (Ω).

  From this equation, it can be seen that the slope of the straight line 4 corresponds to R. When R was actually derived, it was 1110.4Ω. Here, the relationship between R and hydrogen mobility σ is expressed as follows.

(A: Cell constant of electrochemical cell)
Next, a method for deriving the cell constant of the electrochemical cell will be described below. In the electrochemical cell used in this example, the ionic conductivity of EMI (HF) _2.3 F was measured using an alternating current impedance method, and found to be 748Ω. Since EMI _{(HF) 2.3} ionic conductivity of F are found to 0.1Scm ^-1 at ordinary temperature, cell constant of the cell is determined to 74.8cm ^-1. When this value was substituted into Equation (3), the hydrogen mobility obtained directly from this fuel cell experiment was found to be 6.7 × 10 ⁻² Scm ⁻¹ . This is larger than the value of proton conductivity at room temperature of the normal temperature molten salt system reported so far.

  The room temperature molten salt of the present invention is excellent in hydrogen mobility and is particularly useful as an electrolyte for fuel cells.

6 is a diagram showing an electrochemical cell used in Example 2. FIG. In Example 2, a current value of 0.05 mA was passed through the cell, and the voltage between both electrodes was measured at a temperature of 25 ° C. In Example 2, a current value of 0.1 mA was passed through the cell, and the voltage between both electrodes was measured at a temperature of 25 ° C. In Example 2, a current value of 0.5 mA was passed through the cell, and the voltage between both electrodes was measured at a temperature of 25 ° C. 6 is a view showing an electrochemical cell used in Example 3. FIG. 6 is a view showing an electrochemical cell used in Example 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows the result of the oxygen polarization curve in Example 3, a hydrogen polarization curve, a steady voltage, and hydrogen mobility.

Explanation of symbols

    1, 2, ... Working electrode terminal

Claims (7)

An electrolyte for a fuel cell comprising an ambient temperature molten salt containing an anion represented by the following formula (1).

(In Formula (1), X is any of group 17 elements, and y represents a positive real number.) 2. The fuel cell electrolyte according to claim 1, wherein the anion is (HF) _y F ⁻ (wherein y represents a positive real number). The electrolyte for fuel cells according to claim 2, wherein _{y in the} (HF) _y F ⁻ is 1.0 to 2.3.   The fuel cell electrolyte according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the room temperature molten salt is an onium salt containing the anion.   The fuel cell electrolyte according to claim 4, wherein the cation of the room temperature molten salt is 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium.   6. A fuel cell comprising the fuel cell electrolyte according to claim 1.   The fuel cell according to claim 6, wherein the fuel cell electrolyte is immobilized.

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