US20110262693A1 - Solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane comprising porous ceramic support - Google Patents
Solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane comprising porous ceramic support Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20110262693A1 US20110262693A1 US13/066,225 US201113066225A US2011262693A1 US 20110262693 A1 US20110262693 A1 US 20110262693A1 US 201113066225 A US201113066225 A US 201113066225A US 2011262693 A1 US2011262693 A1 US 2011262693A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- polymer electrolyte
- solid polymer
- composite membrane
- pores
- electrolyte composite
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
- 239000012528 membrane Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 134
- 239000005518 polymer electrolyte Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 93
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 93
- 239000002131 composite material Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 68
- 239000000919 ceramic Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 35
- 239000011148 porous material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 87
- 239000002243 precursor Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 19
- 230000001590 oxidative effect Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 3
- UQSQSQZYBQSBJZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N fluorosulfonic acid Chemical group OS(F)(=O)=O UQSQSQZYBQSBJZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 44
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 35
- VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Silicium dioxide Chemical compound O=[Si]=O VYPSYNLAJGMNEJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 24
- 229920000642 polymer Polymers 0.000 claims description 23
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 claims description 16
- 238000011049 filling Methods 0.000 claims description 11
- OBTWBSRJZRCYQV-UHFFFAOYSA-N sulfuryl difluoride Chemical compound FS(F)(=O)=O OBTWBSRJZRCYQV-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 11
- 239000000377 silicon dioxide Substances 0.000 claims description 10
- PNEYBMLMFCGWSK-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium oxide Inorganic materials [O-2].[O-2].[O-2].[Al+3].[Al+3] PNEYBMLMFCGWSK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 9
- GWEVSGVZZGPLCZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Titan oxide Chemical compound O=[Ti]=O GWEVSGVZZGPLCZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 8
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 8
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 claims description 8
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims description 7
- HBMJWWWQQXIZIP-UHFFFAOYSA-N silicon carbide Chemical compound [Si+]#[C-] HBMJWWWQQXIZIP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 6
- 229910010271 silicon carbide Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 6
- 230000002093 peripheral effect Effects 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000003792 electrolyte Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 239000003456 ion exchange resin Substances 0.000 claims description 4
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- 229910044991 metal oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- 150000004706 metal oxides Chemical class 0.000 claims description 4
- YDFRFVFUBOYQIX-UHFFFAOYSA-H [B+3].C([O-])([O-])=O.C([O-])([O-])=O.C([O-])([O-])=O.[B+3] Chemical compound [B+3].C([O-])([O-])=O.C([O-])([O-])=O.C([O-])([O-])=O.[B+3] YDFRFVFUBOYQIX-UHFFFAOYSA-H 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000010432 diamond Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 229910003460 diamond Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 3
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- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000010453 quartz Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 150000003839 salts Chemical class 0.000 claims description 3
- PBYZMCDFOULPGH-UHFFFAOYSA-N tungstate Chemical compound [O-][W]([O-])(=O)=O PBYZMCDFOULPGH-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 3
- NWUYHJFMYQTDRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 1,2-bis(ethenyl)benzene;1-ethenyl-2-ethylbenzene;styrene Chemical compound C=CC1=CC=CC=C1.CCC1=CC=CC=C1C=C.C=CC1=CC=CC=C1C=C NWUYHJFMYQTDRP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims 1
- 239000006185 dispersion Substances 0.000 abstract description 10
- 238000011065 in-situ storage Methods 0.000 abstract description 6
- 239000000178 monomer Substances 0.000 abstract description 6
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- 239000010953 base metal Substances 0.000 abstract description 4
- 238000001035 drying Methods 0.000 abstract description 4
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- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 description 11
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- 229920001483 poly(ethyl methacrylate) polymer Polymers 0.000 description 11
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- 239000000243 solution Substances 0.000 description 10
- 239000002585 base Substances 0.000 description 9
- 229920000554 ionomer Polymers 0.000 description 9
- 229920000557 Nafion® Polymers 0.000 description 8
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- 238000009792 diffusion process Methods 0.000 description 6
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- RAXXELZNTBOGNW-UHFFFAOYSA-N imidazole Natural products C1=CNC=N1 RAXXELZNTBOGNW-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 6
- 229920001343 polytetrafluoroethylene Polymers 0.000 description 6
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- -1 polytetrafluoroethylene Polymers 0.000 description 4
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- KFZMGEQAYNKOFK-UHFFFAOYSA-N Isopropanol Chemical compound CC(C)O KFZMGEQAYNKOFK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 239000002253 acid Substances 0.000 description 2
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- 238000000429 assembly Methods 0.000 description 2
- 229910010293 ceramic material Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052681 coesite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000004020 conductor Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910052593 corundum Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052906 cristobalite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 238000004132 cross linking Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000006056 electrooxidation reaction Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000009477 glass transition Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 2
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- 229910003465 moissanite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910000484 niobium oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- URLJKFSTXLNXLG-UHFFFAOYSA-N niobium(5+);oxygen(2-) Chemical compound [O-2].[O-2].[O-2].[O-2].[O-2].[Nb+5].[Nb+5] URLJKFSTXLNXLG-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
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- GUVRBAGPIYLISA-UHFFFAOYSA-N tantalum atom Chemical compound [Ta] GUVRBAGPIYLISA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229910001936 tantalum oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910052905 tridymite Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 229910001845 yogo sapphire Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- RRZIJNVZMJUGTK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 1,1,2-trifluoro-2-(1,2,2-trifluoroethenoxy)ethene Chemical compound FC(F)=C(F)OC(F)=C(F)F RRZIJNVZMJUGTK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-O Ammonium Chemical compound [NH4+] QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-O 0.000 description 1
- LSNNMFCWUKXFEE-UHFFFAOYSA-M Bisulfite Chemical compound OS([O-])=O LSNNMFCWUKXFEE-UHFFFAOYSA-M 0.000 description 1
- OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon Chemical compound [C] OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000002879 Lewis base Substances 0.000 description 1
- RTAQQCXQSZGOHL-UHFFFAOYSA-N Titanium Chemical compound [Ti] RTAQQCXQSZGOHL-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000002411 adverse Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007754 air knife coating Methods 0.000 description 1
- 150000001298 alcohols Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 229910052782 aluminium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N aluminium Chemical compound [Al] XAGFODPZIPBFFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000003990 capacitor Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052799 carbon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000006229 carbon black Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000003795 chemical substances by application Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000006835 compression Effects 0.000 description 1
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- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
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- 230000003301 hydrolyzing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007654 immersion Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000006872 improvement Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000003999 initiator Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000001788 irregular Effects 0.000 description 1
- 150000007527 lewis bases Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 239000000155 melt Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000002844 melting Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000008018 melting Effects 0.000 description 1
- 229910001463 metal phosphate Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229920000620 organic polymer Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 125000005496 phosphonium group Chemical group 0.000 description 1
- 229920005596 polymer binder Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000002491 polymer binding agent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000002028 premature Effects 0.000 description 1
- 125000002924 primary amino group Chemical group [H]N([H])* 0.000 description 1
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007777 rotary screen coating Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052814 silicon oxide Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000007764 slot die coating Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000000935 solvent evaporation Methods 0.000 description 1
- RWSOTUBLDIXVET-UHFFFAOYSA-O sulfonium Chemical compound [SH3+] RWSOTUBLDIXVET-UHFFFAOYSA-O 0.000 description 1
- BFKJFAAPBSQJPD-UHFFFAOYSA-N tetrafluoroethene Chemical group FC(F)=C(F)F BFKJFAAPBSQJPD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000010936 titanium Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052719 titanium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 125000000391 vinyl group Chemical group [H]C([*])=C([H])[H] 0.000 description 1
- 229920002554 vinyl polymer Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229910000166 zirconium phosphate Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- LEHFSLREWWMLPU-UHFFFAOYSA-B zirconium(4+);tetraphosphate Chemical compound [Zr+4].[Zr+4].[Zr+4].[O-]P([O-])([O-])=O.[O-]P([O-])([O-])=O.[O-]P([O-])([O-])=O.[O-]P([O-])([O-])=O LEHFSLREWWMLPU-UHFFFAOYSA-B 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
- B01D—SEPARATION
- B01D69/00—Semi-permeable membranes for separation processes or apparatus characterised by their form, structure or properties; Manufacturing processes specially adapted therefor
- B01D69/10—Supported membranes; Membrane supports
- B01D69/108—Inorganic support material
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
- C08J—WORKING-UP; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G or C08H
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- C08J5/20—Manufacture of shaped structures of ion-exchange resins
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- C08J5/2218—Synthetic macromolecular compounds
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C25—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES; APPARATUS THEREFOR
- C25B—ELECTROLYTIC OR ELECTROPHORETIC PROCESSES FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOUNDS OR NON-METALS; APPARATUS THEREFOR
- C25B13/00—Diaphragms; Spacing elements
- C25B13/04—Diaphragms; Spacing elements characterised by the material
- C25B13/08—Diaphragms; Spacing elements characterised by the material based on organic materials
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- G01N27/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means
- G01N27/26—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of electric, electrochemical, or magnetic means by investigating electrochemical variables; by using electrolysis or electrophoresis
- G01N27/403—Cells and electrode assemblies
- G01N27/406—Cells and probes with solid electrolytes
- G01N27/407—Cells and probes with solid electrolytes for investigating or analysing gases
- G01N27/4071—Cells and probes with solid electrolytes for investigating or analysing gases using sensor elements of laminated structure
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H01G11/00—Hybrid capacitors, i.e. capacitors having different positive and negative electrodes; Electric double-layer [EDL] capacitors; Processes for the manufacture thereof or of parts thereof
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- H01G11/56—Solid electrolytes, e.g. gels; Additives therein
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01G—CAPACITORS; CAPACITORS, RECTIFIERS, DETECTORS, SWITCHING DEVICES, LIGHT-SENSITIVE OR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE DEVICES OF THE ELECTROLYTIC TYPE
- H01G11/00—Hybrid capacitors, i.e. capacitors having different positive and negative electrodes; Electric double-layer [EDL] capacitors; Processes for the manufacture thereof or of parts thereof
- H01G11/84—Processes for the manufacture of hybrid or EDL capacitors, or components thereof
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01G—CAPACITORS; CAPACITORS, RECTIFIERS, DETECTORS, SWITCHING DEVICES, LIGHT-SENSITIVE OR TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE DEVICES OF THE ELECTROLYTIC TYPE
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- H01G9/004—Details
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- H01G9/025—Solid electrolytes
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H01M8/10—Fuel cells with solid electrolytes
- H01M8/1016—Fuel cells with solid electrolytes characterised by the electrolyte material
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- H01M8/102—Polymeric electrolyte materials characterised by the chemical structure of the main chain of the ion-conducting polymer
- H01M8/1023—Polymeric electrolyte materials characterised by the chemical structure of the main chain of the ion-conducting polymer having only carbon, e.g. polyarylenes, polystyrenes or polybutadiene-styrenes
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- H01M8/106—Polymeric electrolyte materials characterised by a porous support having no ion-conducting properties characterised by the chemical composition of the porous support
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- H01M8/1016—Fuel cells with solid electrolytes characterised by the electrolyte material
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- H01M8/1067—Polymeric electrolyte materials characterised by their physical properties, e.g. porosity, ionic conductivity or thickness
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- H01M8/1069—Polymeric electrolyte materials characterised by the manufacturing processes
- H01M8/1081—Polymeric electrolyte materials characterised by the manufacturing processes starting from solutions, dispersions or slurries exclusively of polymers
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- H01M8/1083—Starting from polymer melts other than monomer melts
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- H01M8/1086—After-treatment of the membrane other than by polymerisation
- H01M8/1088—Chemical modification, e.g. sulfonation
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- H01G11/00—Hybrid capacitors, i.e. capacitors having different positive and negative electrodes; Electric double-layer [EDL] capacitors; Processes for the manufacture thereof or of parts thereof
- H01G11/52—Separators
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- H—ELECTRICITY
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- H01M2300/0094—Composites in the form of layered products, e.g. coatings
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
- Y02E60/13—Energy storage using capacitors
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
- Y02E60/30—Hydrogen technology
- Y02E60/50—Fuel cells
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
- Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
- Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
- Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
- Y10T428/24—Structurally defined web or sheet [e.g., overall dimension, etc.]
- Y10T428/24149—Honeycomb-like
- Y10T428/24157—Filled honeycomb cells [e.g., solid substance in cavities, etc.]
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
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- Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
- Y10T428/249921—Web or sheet containing structurally defined element or component
- Y10T428/249953—Composite having voids in a component [e.g., porous, cellular, etc.]
- Y10T428/249954—With chemically effective material or specified gas other than air, N, or carbon dioxide in void-containing component
Definitions
- the present invention relates generally to solid polymer electrolyte membranes of the type suitable for use in electrochemical devices and relates more particularly to a novel such membrane.
- Electrochemical devices of the type comprising a solid polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) sandwiched between a pair of electrodes are well-known, such electrochemical devices finding applications as, for example, fuel cells, electrolyzers, sensors, gas concentrators, gas compressors, supercapacitors, ultracapacitors and industrial electrochemical process units.
- PEM solid polymer electrolyte membrane
- a common type of solid polymer electrolyte membrane consists of a homogeneous perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) polymer, said PFSA polymer being formed by the copolymerization of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluorovinylether sulfonic acid.
- PFSA perfluorosulfonic acid
- PFSA PEMs function in a generally satisfactory manner in electrochemical devices, there nonetheless remains room for improvement in certain properties of PFSA PEMs.
- one common difficulty associated with PFSA PEMs is a lack of mechanical strength, resulting in a tendency for the PFSA PEMs to tear, especially when being handled (such as during assembly of an electrochemical cell) or in stressed areas where compression is applied thereto (such as in peripheral areas of PEMs sealed under pressure to other electrochemical cell components).
- Such a lack of mechanical strength also often leads to electrical shorting, which results in premature failures during cell operation as the typical porous electrodes in contact with the PEM have a tendency to penetrate the softened PEM. This problem of shorting is even greater when the membrane is made thin (e.g., less than 25 microns) in order to decrease membrane resistance.
- Still another such shortcoming is that the humidification process typically results in the PEM swelling in a non-uniform manner, thereby creating stress in some areas of the PEM, as well as in other components of the cell that are in contact with the PEM, and introducing irregularities in the contact pressure applied over the entire active surface area of the PEM. (When the contact pressure is not uniform over the entire active surface area of the PEM, the performance of the electrochemical cell is adversely affected.) As can readily be appreciated, such irregularities are amplified where humidification is applied to a plurality of PEM-containing fuel cells arranged in a stack.
- the membrane will undergo additional dimensional changes as it swells when wet and shrinks when dry. Such dimensional changes cause further stress to the PEM and to the other cell components, all of which are tightly packed together. If sufficiently great, such stress results in damage to the PEM and/or to the cell components in contact therewith. Pinholes/microcracks have a tendency to form along the cell or flow-field edges where one side of the membrane is heavily compressed by the fixture while the other side can still partially swell.
- variable conditions of humidity e.g., alternating wet and dry intervals during periods of use and non-use, respectively
- the pores of the sheet are then at least partially filled with polymer electrolyte selected from (i) polymer compositions that contain metal salts; (ii) polymeric gels that contain electrolyte; and (iii) ion exchange resins, such as PFSA.
- polymer electrolyte selected from (i) polymer compositions that contain metal salts; (ii) polymeric gels that contain electrolyte; and (iii) ion exchange resins, such as PFSA.
- electrochemical devices such as, but not limited to, fuel cells, electrolyzers, sensors, gas concentrators, gas compressors, supercapacitors, ultracapacitors and industrial electrochemical process units.
- a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane comprising (a) a ceramic support, said ceramic support having opposing top and bottom surfaces and a plurality of pores extending from said top surface to said bottom surface; and (b) a first solid polymer electrolyte at least partially filling at least some of said pores.
- the ceramic support contains or is made of at least one of silica, quartz, glass, boron carbonate, silicon carbide, alumina, titania, silica tungstate, sintered valve metal oxides (e.g., tantalum or niobium oxide) and non-conductive diamond or diamond-like coatings, the support having a thickness of about 1 ⁇ m to 50 ⁇ m.
- a plurality of cylindrical pores are formed in the support by laser micromachining. The pores have a diameter of about 1 ⁇ m to 200 ⁇ m and are arranged in a defined pattern, such as in a uniform hexangular pattern or in a pattern in which fewer pores are located in areas of higher membrane stress and more pores are located in areas of lower membrane stress.
- a solid polymer electrolyte such as PFSA polymer, fills the pores. This may be effected, for example, by filling the pores with a solution/dispersion of the solid polymer electrolyte and then drying off the solvent, by filling the pores with a precursor of the solid polymer electrolyte and then converting said precursor to said solid polymer electrolyte by base hydrolysis, or by filling the pores with a monomer of the solid polymer electrolyte and then polymerizing the monomer in-situ. Additional solid polymer electrolyte, which may be the same as or different than that filling the pores, may be applied to one or both of the top and bottom surfaces of the ceramic support.
- a porous ceramic support is prepared by the controlled electrochemical oxidation of a sheet of the base metal.
- the pores of such a support may have a diameter of about 0.01 micron to 100 microns and may be arranged in a honeycomb pattern. Where the pores have a diameter less than about 0.1 micron, the pores are preferably not filled using a solution/dispersion of the solid polymer electrolyte, but rather, are preferably filled using the techniques identified above involving base hydrolysis of a precursor or by in-situ polymerization.
- the present invention is also directed at methods of preparing a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane.
- said method comprises the steps of (a) providing a ceramic support, said ceramic support having a top surface and a bottom surface; (b) lasing at least one pore in said ceramic support, said at least one pore extending transversely from said top surface to said bottom surface; and (c) filling at least one of said at least one pore with a first solid polymer electrolyte.
- said method comprises the steps of (a) providing a metal sheet; (b) electrochemically oxidizing said metal sheet to form a ceramic support having a top surface and a bottom surface, said ceramic support having at least one pore extending transversely from said top surface to said bottom surface; and (c) filling at least one of said at least one pore with a first solid polymer electrolyte.
- the present invention is further directed at a method of preparing a perfluorosulfonic acid polymer, said method comprising the steps of (a) providing a sulfonyl fluoride precursor of said perfluorosulfonic acid polymer; and (b) adding a weak base to said sulfonyl fluoride precursor to convert said sulfonyl fluoride precursor to said perfluorosulfonic acid polymer.
- the present invention is also directed to membrane electrode assemblies incorporating the above-described composite composite membranes and to electrochemical devices incorporating the above-described composite membranes, such electrochemical devices including, but not being limited to, fuel cells, electrolyzers, gas concentrators, gas compressors, sensors, supercapacitors, ultracapacitors, and industrial electrochemical process units.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic section view of a first embodiment of a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane constructed according to the teachings of the present invention
- FIGS. 2( a ) and 2 ( b ) are top and perspective views, respectively, of the non-electrically-conductive support shown in FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top view of a non-electrically-conductive support that may be used as an alternative to the non-electrically-conductive support of FIGS. 2( a ) and 2 ( b );
- FIG. 4 is a schematic depiction of the laser micromachining technique of near-field imaging
- FIG. 5 is a schematic section view of a second embodiment of a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane constructed according to the teachings of the present invention.
- FIG. 6 is a schematic section view of a third embodiment of a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane constructed according to the teachings of the present invention.
- FIG. 7 is an image, taken from the top, of the non-electrically-conductive support of FIG. 6 .
- FIG. 1 there is shown a schematic section view of a first embodiment of a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane constructed according to the teachings of the present invention, said solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane being represented generally by reference numeral 11 .
- Composite membrane 11 comprises a non-electrically-conductive support 13 and a solid polymer electrolyte 15 , support 13 being impregnated with solid polymer electrolyte 15 .
- support 13 can be seen to be a generally sheet-like, unitary structure, preferably of high mechanical strength, having a top surface 17 and a bottom surface 19 .
- the thickness of support 13 may vary, depending upon the type of use to which membrane 11 is put and the types of pressures typically encountered by support 13 in such a use.
- support 13 preferably has a thickness suitable for withstanding pressures of 2000-5000 psi.
- support 13 has a thickness of about 1 ⁇ m to 50 ⁇ m, preferably about 7.5 ⁇ m to 15 ⁇ m.
- support 13 is preferably a rigid member; in addition, support 13 is preferably chemically resistant to acid and water hydrolysis at elevated temperatures.
- Materials suitable for use as support 13 include, but are not limited to, silica, quartz, glass, boron carbonate, silicon carbide, alumina, titania, silica tungstate, sintered valve metal oxides (e.g., tantalum or niobium oxide) and non conductive diamond or diamond-like coatings.
- the ceramic materials are orders of magnitude stronger than PFSA and PTFE.
- a plurality of pores 21 extend in a direct, i.e. straight-line, fashion from top surface 17 to bottom surface 19 of support 13 . It should be stressed that the base shape of the pore can be chosen from any two-dimensional geometric shape distributed in either regular or irregular fashion. As will be discussed further below, pores 21 are made by laser micromachining. Each pore preferably has 21 a diameter of about 1 ⁇ m to 200 ⁇ m, with pores 21 constituting about 20% to 95%, more preferably about 40% to 70%, of support 13 .
- the conductance of a membrane including such a porous support can be easily estimated as:
- G is the ionic conductance of the composite membrane
- ⁇ is the ionic conductivity of the solid polymer electrolyte
- A is the geometric area of the composite membrane
- X is the percentage of pores in the support
- T is the thickness of the composite membrane
- T s is the thickness of the support.
- the conductance of the composite membrane is inversely proportional to the percentage of pores in the support.
- a support with 50% pores results in a composite membrane with conductance equivalent to a homogenous membrane twice as thick.
- a support with 50% pores may be fabricated.
- pores 21 are arranged in a uniform hexangular pattern over the entirety of support 13 , such pores 21 having, for example, a diameter of about 25 ⁇ m and a center-to-center spacing of about 40 ⁇ m. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the above-described pattern of pores and may encompass a variety of different patterns of pores. For example, as can be seen in FIG.
- FIG. 3 there is shown a fragmentary top view of a support 13 ′ having a plurality of pores 21 ′ that are arranged so that a lesser concentration of pores 21 ′ may be found in areas of higher membrane stress (e.g., at the membrane edge 23 or in local “hot spots” 25 ) and a greater concentration of pores 21 ′ may be found elsewhere.
- Pores 21 (and 21 ′) are made by lasing support 13 with suitable laser light.
- gas lasers are preferred.
- excimer lasers are preferred over CO 2 lasers. This is because excimer lasers produce laser light having a much shorter wavelength than that produced by CO 2 lasers ( ⁇ 0.3 ⁇ m for an excimer laser vs. ⁇ 10 ⁇ m for a CO 2 laser). Consequently, because of their shorter wavelengths, excimer lasers directly excite the covalent bonds of the support and decompose the support without creating as extreme high-temperature conditions as is the case with CO 2 lasers. Additionally, due to their shorter wavelengths, excimer lasers can create significantly smaller pores than can CO 2 lasers.
- near-field imaging which is schematically depicted in FIG. 4 , a mask having a pattern is placed in the path of the beam emitted by the excimer laser. The light transmitted through the pattern of the mask is then focused by an imaging lens onto the support, resulting in the mask pattern being projected onto the support, with a corresponding pattern of pores being formed in the support.
- near-field imaging enables various alternative patterns to be projected onto the support simply by using differently patterned masks.
- solid polymer electrolyte 15 can be seen to fill pores 21 and to cover thinly top surface 17 and bottom surface 19 of support 13 .
- suitable materials for use as solid polymer electrolyte 15 include (i) polymer compositions that contain metal salts; (ii) polymeric gels that contain electrolytes; and (iii) ion exchange resins.
- a carboxylated, sulfonated or phosphorylated polymer is preferably used as solid polymer electrolyte 15 .
- a polymer containing amino, imimo, ammonium, sulfonium, and phosphonium groups is preferably used as solid polymer electrolyte 15 .
- inorganic ionically-conductive materials such as metal oxide (e.g., TiO 2 ), silicon oxide, metal phosphates (e.g., zirconium phosphate) or heteropolyacids, may be impregnated into the solid polymer electrolyte 15 .
- a preferred material for use as solid polymer electrolyte 15 is a perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membrane, such as is commercially available from DuPont (Wilmington, Del.) as NAFION® PFSA polymer.
- PFSA perfluorosulfonic acid
- NAFION® PFSA polymer particularly preferred are those having an equivalent weight of 200 to 2000, even more preferably those having an equivalent weight of 500 to 1200, the optimal equivalent weight depending on the use to which membrane 11 is applied.
- Solid polymer electrolyte 15 may be coupled to support 13 .
- One such technique involves providing the solid polymer electrolyte in the form of a solution/dispersion (e.g., NAFION® 1100 in water or isopropanol) and then coating support 13 with said solution/dispersion.
- suitable coating techniques include gravure coating, immersion (dip) coating, metering rod (Meyer bar) coating, slot die coating, rotary screen and air knife coating.
- the optimal coating technique for any particular case will depend on factors, such as instrument complexity, thickness accuracy, operation efficiency, initial investment, and the like.
- one or more additional coatings may thereafter be applied. Said one or more additional coatings either may be of the same solution/dispersion previously applied in order to build up the thickness of the solid polymer electrolyte or may be different from the initial solution/dispersion in order to obtain a composite membrane with a multilayer electrolyte structure having desired properties. (An example of a composite membrane possessing such a multilayer structure is shown in FIG.
- said composite membrane 51 comprising a support 13 , a first solid polymer electrolyte 53 and a second polymer electrolyte 55 .
- the layer or layers are preferably cured by heating at a temperature greater than the glass transition temperature of the ionomer (e.g., 100° C. to 400° C., preferably 160° C. for 15 minutes). Such curing, which serves to sinter or anneal the ionomer, further enhances the mechanical properties of the membrane.
- mask coating technology may be used to create a composite membrane wherein the solid polymer electrolyte is confined to certain patches or regions.
- the solid polymer electrolyte may be applied by spraying the polymer electrolyte solution/dispersion onto support 13 .
- Conventional spraying techniques may be used for this purpose. Such spraying is preferably performed at 80° C. and does not require a subsequent solvent evaporation step.
- Micro-spraying may be used to create solid polymer electrolyte patches on the support, such patches, if desired, being far smaller than those capable of being produced by masked coating techniques.
- Still another technique for incorporating the solid polymer electrolyte 15 into support 13 involves a membrane extrusion technique.
- a membrane extrusion technique comprises providing a solid polymer electrolyte in the form of a thin membrane, stacking the thin precursor membrane on the top and/or bottom surfaces of support 13 , and then pressing the stack together at an elevated temperature, preferably above the melting point or glass transition temperature of the membrane, so that the membrane melts and is forced into pores 21 .
- a membrane precursor may be heated and forced into the pores and thereafter may be chemically converted to the corresponding solid ionomer.
- PFSA which does not melt, but instead, degrades upon heating
- PFSA precursor in which the acid groups are replaced with sulfonyl fluoride groups.
- a base may be added to the PFSA precursor to convert the PFSA precursor into PFSA by base hydrolysis.
- support 13 is made of alumina or another ceramic material that degrades in the presence of a strong base (i.e., a base that donates an OH ⁇ group), a Lewis base (i.e., a base that accepts an H + ), such as imidazole, is preferably used to convert the sulfonyl fluoride PFSA precursor into PFSA.
- a strong base i.e., a base that donates an OH ⁇ group
- a Lewis base i.e., a base that accepts an H +
- imidazole is preferably used to convert the sulfonyl fluoride PFSA precursor into PFSA.
- Still yet another technique for incorporating the solid polymer electrolyte 15 into support 13 involves filling pores 21 with a corresponding monomer and then polymerizing the monomer in situ to form the desired solid ionomer.
- Such polymerization may be effected with the use of an initiator (e.g., vinyl) mixed in with the monomer or by radiation (e.g., UV radiation).
- FIG. 6 there is shown a schematic section view of a third embodiment of a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane constructed according to the teachings of the present invention, said solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane being represented generally by reference numeral 111 .
- Composite membrane 111 is similar in many respects to membrane 11 , the principle difference between the two membranes being that, whereas membrane 11 includes a ceramic support 13 whose pores 21 are formed by laser micromachining, membrane 111 includes a ceramic support 113 whose pores 121 are formed by the controlled electrochemical oxidation (i.e., pitting) of a sheet of the base metal (e.g., aluminum, titanium, etc.).
- a top view of support 113 is shown in FIG. 7 . As can be seen, support 113 has a honeycomb-like arrangement of pores 121 .
- WHATMAN ANODISC membrane filter which is commercially available from Whatman International (United Kingdom) and is marketed for filtration purposes, is made of alumina and may be used support 113 .
- Pores 121 made by pitting a sheet of the base metal may have a diameter as small as about 0.01 ⁇ m.
- the diameter of pores 121 is less than about 0.1 ⁇ m, pores 121 cannot easily be filled using a solution or dispersion of the solid ionomer. Consequently, preferred techniques for filling such small pores include the hot-extrusion and in-situ polymerization techniques described above.
- the total thickness of membrane 11 or 111 is preferably about 5 to 300 ⁇ m, more preferably 10 to 75 ⁇ m, with the thickness of the membrane being governed by application requirements.
- a water electrolyzer requires a thicker membrane due to its high differential pressure while an ultra-thin membrane is suitable for super capacitors since no dynamic pressure is involved for their operation.
- Membrane and electrode assemblies comprising the composite membrane of the present invention can be fabricated by pressing a precast Pt-supported on carbon/ionomer ink onto each side of the composite membrane.
- the foregoing method is typically referred to as the decal transfer method.
- catalyst ink can be directly coated or sprayed onto the top and bottom surfaces of the membrane. This direct coating of the catalyst ink is not practical for conventional ionomer membranes since such membranes change dimension when contacted with the ink. Since the composite membrane of the present invention has excellent dimensional stability when contacted with swelling agents, such as water or alcohols, the catalyst ink can be directly applied to the membrane.
- the diffusion medium of this technique is a porous electrically-conductive material, which is typically in the form of a thin sheet.
- a microporous layer prepared from carbon black and a polymer binder may be applied to the diffusion medium.
- the catalyst is then sprayed onto the diffusion medium to form a diffusion electrode.
- a catalyst-loaded diffusion electrode is then pressed onto each side of the composite membrane to form a full MEA.
- a plurality of pores were formed in a piece of 25 ⁇ m thick silica film using an excimer laser and near-field imaging.
- the diameter of each pore was 30 ⁇ m, and the distance between the centers of the pores was 60 ⁇ m.
- NAFION® PFSA solution with an equivalent weight of 1100, was coated onto the porous film, and the product was then heated to dry off the solvent from the coated PFSA solution and to cure the PFSA polymer.
- the resultant composite membrane had a thickness of approximately 32 ⁇ m.
- the wet through-plane conductivity of the membrane was 0.05 S/cm, as compared to 0.10 S/cm for the neat ionomer.
- a 25 ⁇ m NAFION® precursor membrane in the sulfonyl fluoride form was pressed into a 60 ⁇ m WHATMAN ANODISC filter having a 1.0 ⁇ m pore size. Such pressing was effected at 350° C. at 300 psi for 1 hour. Conversion of the sulfonyl fluoride form of the membrane was then effected by hydrolyzing overnight with imidazole at 60° C. The resulting wet room temperature through-plane-conductivity of the membrane was 0.04 S/cm, as compared to 0.10 S/cm for the neat ionomer.
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Abstract
A solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane and method of manufacturing the same. The composite membrane comprises a porous ceramic support having a top surface and a bottom surface. The porous ceramic support may be formed by laser micromachining a ceramic sheet or may be formed by electrochemically oxidizing a sheet of the base metal. A solid polymer electrolyte fills the pores of the ceramic support and preferably also covers the top and bottom surfaces of the support. Application of the solid polymer electrolyte to the porous support may take place by applying a dispersion to the support followed by a drying off of the solvent, by hot extrusion of the solid polymer electrolyte (or by hot extrusion of a precursor of the solid polymer electrolyte followed by in-situ conversion of the precursor to the solid polymer electrolyte) or by in-situ polymerization of a corresponding monomer of the solid polymer electrolyte.
Description
- The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/239,647, filed Sep. 29, 2005, which, in turn, claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/614,143, filed Sep. 29, 2004, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
- The present invention relates generally to solid polymer electrolyte membranes of the type suitable for use in electrochemical devices and relates more particularly to a novel such membrane.
- Electrochemical devices of the type comprising a solid polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) sandwiched between a pair of electrodes are well-known, such electrochemical devices finding applications as, for example, fuel cells, electrolyzers, sensors, gas concentrators, gas compressors, supercapacitors, ultracapacitors and industrial electrochemical process units.
- A common type of solid polymer electrolyte membrane consists of a homogeneous perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) polymer, said PFSA polymer being formed by the copolymerization of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluorovinylether sulfonic acid. See e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,282,875, inventors Connolly et al., issued Nov. 1, 1966; U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,889, inventors Ezzell et al., issued Sep. 11, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,695, inventors Ezzell et al., issued Oct. 23, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 6,492,431, inventor Cisar, issued Dec. 10, 2002, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. A commercial embodiment of a perfluorosulfonic acid polymer PEM is available from DuPont (Wilmington, Del.) as NAFION® PFSA polymer.
- Although PFSA PEMs function in a generally satisfactory manner in electrochemical devices, there nonetheless remains room for improvement in certain properties of PFSA PEMs. For example, one common difficulty associated with PFSA PEMs is a lack of mechanical strength, resulting in a tendency for the PFSA PEMs to tear, especially when being handled (such as during assembly of an electrochemical cell) or in stressed areas where compression is applied thereto (such as in peripheral areas of PEMs sealed under pressure to other electrochemical cell components). Such a lack of mechanical strength also often leads to electrical shorting, which results in premature failures during cell operation as the typical porous electrodes in contact with the PEM have a tendency to penetrate the softened PEM. This problem of shorting is even greater when the membrane is made thin (e.g., less than 25 microns) in order to decrease membrane resistance.
- Because the tendency to tear and to short is greatest when the PFSA PEMs are wet (especially at elevated temperatures) and because the PFSA PEMs must be wet in order to function properly, one approach to this problem has been to assemble electrochemical cells with dry PEMs and then to subject the PEMs to a humidification process. This approach, however, has its own shortcomings. One such shortcoming is that the dry assembly requires special moisture-free facilities, such as a “dry room.” Another such shortcoming is that the humidification process is time-consuming. Still another such shortcoming is that the humidification process typically results in the PEM swelling in a non-uniform manner, thereby creating stress in some areas of the PEM, as well as in other components of the cell that are in contact with the PEM, and introducing irregularities in the contact pressure applied over the entire active surface area of the PEM. (When the contact pressure is not uniform over the entire active surface area of the PEM, the performance of the electrochemical cell is adversely affected.) As can readily be appreciated, such irregularities are amplified where humidification is applied to a plurality of PEM-containing fuel cells arranged in a stack.
- Moreover, if the PEM is subjected to variable conditions of humidity (e.g., alternating wet and dry intervals during periods of use and non-use, respectively), the membrane will undergo additional dimensional changes as it swells when wet and shrinks when dry. Such dimensional changes cause further stress to the PEM and to the other cell components, all of which are tightly packed together. If sufficiently great, such stress results in damage to the PEM and/or to the cell components in contact therewith. Pinholes/microcracks have a tendency to form along the cell or flow-field edges where one side of the membrane is heavily compressed by the fixture while the other side can still partially swell.
- One approach that has been taken to address the aforementioned problem of low mechanical strength of PFSA PEMs has been to cross-link the membrane polymer. Such cross-linking reduces the swelling of the membrane when wet which, in turn, reduces the deterioration of the mechanical strength of the membrane when wet. Unfortunately, however, such cross-linking tends to make the membrane undesirably brittle under dry conditions.
- Another approach to this problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,635,384, inventors Bahar et al., which issued Oct. 21, 2003, and which is incorporated herein by reference. In the aforementioned '384 patent, there is described a composite membrane that comprises a microporous sheet, said microporous sheet preferably being an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membrane, said ePTFE membrane preferably being formed by stretching a sheet of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) until pores are formed therein. The structure defining the pores of the microporous sheet is then at least partially covered with a functional material selected from (i) inorganic particulate; (ii) metal; and (iii) an organic polymer. In addition, the pores of the sheet are then at least partially filled with polymer electrolyte selected from (i) polymer compositions that contain metal salts; (ii) polymeric gels that contain electrolyte; and (iii) ion exchange resins, such as PFSA.
- One disadvantage that has been noted by the present inventors regarding the foregoing composite membrane is that the pores of the expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) sheet tend to follow a tortuous pathway between opposing surfaces of the ePTFE sheet, as opposed to following a direct or straight pathway between opposing surfaces. As a result of these tortuous pathway's, protons conducted through the pores (by means of the polymer electrolyte that is disposed within the pores) have to travel considerably longer pathways through the membrane than merely the thickness of the membrane. Such longer pathways result in a reduction in the conductivity of the membrane and an increase in the resistivity of the membrane.
- Another disadvantage that has been noted by the present inventors regarding the foregoing composite membrane is that a microporous sheet of ePTFE possesses only slightly better mechanical strength than a PFSA PEM. Consequently, the foregoing composite membrane is not significantly stronger than a PFSA PEM and is subject to the same types of shortcomings discussed above in connection with PFSA PEMs.
- Still another disadvantage that has been noted by the present inventors regarding the foregoing composite membrane is that the stretching process that is used to expand the PTFE sheet to create the desired pores tends to result in a fairly uniform yet random distribution of pores throughout the sheet and cannot be tailored to control the positioning or concentration of pores in particular regions of the sheet. This is unfortunate because certain regions of the membrane, such as the membrane active area edges/corners or the membrane contact area with the current collector, are typically subjected to greater stresses than other regions. Consequently, pores in these regions of high stress undesirably diminish membrane strength in those regions where membrane strength is needed most.
- It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel solid polymer electrolyte membrane of the type that is suitable for use in electrochemical devices, such as, but not limited to, fuel cells, electrolyzers, sensors, gas concentrators, gas compressors, supercapacitors, ultracapacitors and industrial electrochemical process units.
- It is another object of the present invention to provide a solid polymer electrolyte membrane of the type described above that overcomes at least some of the drawbacks discussed above in connection with existing solid polymer electrolyte membranes.
- Therefore, according to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane, said solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane comprising (a) a ceramic support, said ceramic support having opposing top and bottom surfaces and a plurality of pores extending from said top surface to said bottom surface; and (b) a first solid polymer electrolyte at least partially filling at least some of said pores.
- In a preferred embodiment, the ceramic support contains or is made of at least one of silica, quartz, glass, boron carbonate, silicon carbide, alumina, titania, silica tungstate, sintered valve metal oxides (e.g., tantalum or niobium oxide) and non-conductive diamond or diamond-like coatings, the support having a thickness of about 1 μm to 50 μm. A plurality of cylindrical pores are formed in the support by laser micromachining. The pores have a diameter of about 1 μm to 200 μm and are arranged in a defined pattern, such as in a uniform hexangular pattern or in a pattern in which fewer pores are located in areas of higher membrane stress and more pores are located in areas of lower membrane stress. A solid polymer electrolyte, such as PFSA polymer, fills the pores. This may be effected, for example, by filling the pores with a solution/dispersion of the solid polymer electrolyte and then drying off the solvent, by filling the pores with a precursor of the solid polymer electrolyte and then converting said precursor to said solid polymer electrolyte by base hydrolysis, or by filling the pores with a monomer of the solid polymer electrolyte and then polymerizing the monomer in-situ. Additional solid polymer electrolyte, which may be the same as or different than that filling the pores, may be applied to one or both of the top and bottom surfaces of the ceramic support.
- In another preferred embodiment, a porous ceramic support is prepared by the controlled electrochemical oxidation of a sheet of the base metal. The pores of such a support may have a diameter of about 0.01 micron to 100 microns and may be arranged in a honeycomb pattern. Where the pores have a diameter less than about 0.1 micron, the pores are preferably not filled using a solution/dispersion of the solid polymer electrolyte, but rather, are preferably filled using the techniques identified above involving base hydrolysis of a precursor or by in-situ polymerization.
- The present invention is also directed at methods of preparing a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane. According to one aspect, said method comprises the steps of (a) providing a ceramic support, said ceramic support having a top surface and a bottom surface; (b) lasing at least one pore in said ceramic support, said at least one pore extending transversely from said top surface to said bottom surface; and (c) filling at least one of said at least one pore with a first solid polymer electrolyte.
- According to another aspect, said method comprises the steps of (a) providing a metal sheet; (b) electrochemically oxidizing said metal sheet to form a ceramic support having a top surface and a bottom surface, said ceramic support having at least one pore extending transversely from said top surface to said bottom surface; and (c) filling at least one of said at least one pore with a first solid polymer electrolyte.
- The present invention is further directed at a method of preparing a perfluorosulfonic acid polymer, said method comprising the steps of (a) providing a sulfonyl fluoride precursor of said perfluorosulfonic acid polymer; and (b) adding a weak base to said sulfonyl fluoride precursor to convert said sulfonyl fluoride precursor to said perfluorosulfonic acid polymer.
- The present invention is also directed to membrane electrode assemblies incorporating the above-described composite composite membranes and to electrochemical devices incorporating the above-described composite membranes, such electrochemical devices including, but not being limited to, fuel cells, electrolyzers, gas concentrators, gas compressors, sensors, supercapacitors, ultracapacitors, and industrial electrochemical process units.
- For purposes of the present specification and claims, it is to be understood that certain relational terms used herein, such as “above,” “below,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” “in front of,” or “behind,” when used to denote the relative positions of two or more components of an electrochemical device are used to denote such relative positions in a particular orientation and that, in a different orientation, the relationship of said components may be reversed or otherwise altered.
- Additional objects, as well as features and advantages, of the present invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description or may be learned by practice of the invention. In the description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part thereof and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments for practicing the invention. The embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.
- The accompanying drawings, which are hereby incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings wherein like reference numerals represent like parts:
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic section view of a first embodiment of a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane constructed according to the teachings of the present invention; -
FIGS. 2( a) and 2(b) are top and perspective views, respectively, of the non-electrically-conductive support shown inFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top view of a non-electrically-conductive support that may be used as an alternative to the non-electrically-conductive support ofFIGS. 2( a) and 2(b); -
FIG. 4 is a schematic depiction of the laser micromachining technique of near-field imaging; -
FIG. 5 is a schematic section view of a second embodiment of a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane constructed according to the teachings of the present invention; -
FIG. 6 is a schematic section view of a third embodiment of a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane constructed according to the teachings of the present invention; and -
FIG. 7 is an image, taken from the top, of the non-electrically-conductive support ofFIG. 6 . - Referring now to
FIG. 1 , there is shown a schematic section view of a first embodiment of a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane constructed according to the teachings of the present invention, said solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane being represented generally byreference numeral 11. -
Composite membrane 11 comprises a non-electrically-conductive support 13 and asolid polymer electrolyte 15,support 13 being impregnated withsolid polymer electrolyte 15. - Referring now to
FIGS. 2( a) and 2(b),support 13 can be seen to be a generally sheet-like, unitary structure, preferably of high mechanical strength, having atop surface 17 and abottom surface 19. The thickness ofsupport 13 may vary, depending upon the type of use to whichmembrane 11 is put and the types of pressures typically encountered bysupport 13 in such a use. For example, wheremembrane 11 is used in an electrolyzer,support 13 preferably has a thickness suitable for withstanding pressures of 2000-5000 psi. For most applications,support 13 has a thickness of about 1 μm to 50 μm, preferably about 7.5 μm to 15 μm. - As noted above,
support 13 is preferably a rigid member; in addition,support 13 is preferably chemically resistant to acid and water hydrolysis at elevated temperatures. Materials suitable for use assupport 13 include, but are not limited to, silica, quartz, glass, boron carbonate, silicon carbide, alumina, titania, silica tungstate, sintered valve metal oxides (e.g., tantalum or niobium oxide) and non conductive diamond or diamond-like coatings. A comparison of the mechanical strength of some of the above-listed ceramics to conventional PEM materials is provided below in TABLE I. -
TABLE I Material, condition Young's Modulus (Mpa) NAFION ® 112 PFSA membrane, dry 20° C. 300 NAFION ® 112 PFSA membrane, wet 80° C. 70 Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) 400 SiO2 (VYCOR) 66,000 Al2O3 350,000 SiC 470,000 - As can be seen, the ceramic materials (SiO2, Al2O3 and SiC) are orders of magnitude stronger than PFSA and PTFE.
- A plurality of
pores 21, preferably cylindrical in shape, extend in a direct, i.e. straight-line, fashion fromtop surface 17 tobottom surface 19 ofsupport 13. It should be stressed that the base shape of the pore can be chosen from any two-dimensional geometric shape distributed in either regular or irregular fashion. As will be discussed further below, pores 21 are made by laser micromachining. Each pore preferably has 21 a diameter of about 1 μm to 200 μm, withpores 21 constituting about 20% to 95%, more preferably about 40% to 70%, ofsupport 13. - The conductance of a membrane including such a porous support can be easily estimated as:
-
- where G is the ionic conductance of the composite membrane, σ is the ionic conductivity of the solid polymer electrolyte, A is the geometric area of the composite membrane, X is the percentage of pores in the support, T is the thickness of the composite membrane and Ts is the thickness of the support.
- As can be seen from the above equation, the conductance of the composite membrane is inversely proportional to the percentage of pores in the support. Thus, a support with 50% pores results in a composite membrane with conductance equivalent to a homogenous membrane twice as thick. To maximize the conductance of the supported membrane without a sacrifice in mechanical properties, a support with 50% pores may be fabricated.
- In the present embodiment, pores 21 are arranged in a uniform hexangular pattern over the entirety of
support 13,such pores 21 having, for example, a diameter of about 25 μm and a center-to-center spacing of about 40 μm. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the above-described pattern of pores and may encompass a variety of different patterns of pores. For example, as can be seen inFIG. 3 , there is shown a fragmentary top view of asupport 13′ having a plurality ofpores 21′ that are arranged so that a lesser concentration ofpores 21′ may be found in areas of higher membrane stress (e.g., at themembrane edge 23 or in local “hot spots” 25) and a greater concentration ofpores 21′ may be found elsewhere. - Pores 21 (and 21′) are made by lasing
support 13 with suitable laser light. Although either gas lasers or solid state lasers may be used to createpores 21, gas lasers are preferred. Within the class of gas lasers, excimer lasers are preferred over CO2 lasers. This is because excimer lasers produce laser light having a much shorter wavelength than that produced by CO2 lasers (˜0.3 μm for an excimer laser vs. ˜10 μm for a CO2 laser). Consequently, because of their shorter wavelengths, excimer lasers directly excite the covalent bonds of the support and decompose the support without creating as extreme high-temperature conditions as is the case with CO2 lasers. Additionally, due to their shorter wavelengths, excimer lasers can create significantly smaller pores than can CO2 lasers. - Where a CO2 laser is used to micromachine pores into the support, the whole laser beam is focused onto an area of the support until the irradiated area is ablated. Where an excimer laser is used, the relatively uniform beam intensity produced thereby provides an alternative approach to pore formation: near-field imaging. In near-field imaging, which is schematically depicted in
FIG. 4 , a mask having a pattern is placed in the path of the beam emitted by the excimer laser. The light transmitted through the pattern of the mask is then focused by an imaging lens onto the support, resulting in the mask pattern being projected onto the support, with a corresponding pattern of pores being formed in the support. As can readily be appreciated, near-field imaging enables various alternative patterns to be projected onto the support simply by using differently patterned masks. - Referring back to
FIG. 1 ,solid polymer electrolyte 15 can be seen to fillpores 21 and to cover thinlytop surface 17 andbottom surface 19 ofsupport 13. Examples of suitable materials for use assolid polymer electrolyte 15 include (i) polymer compositions that contain metal salts; (ii) polymeric gels that contain electrolytes; and (iii) ion exchange resins. In general, if proton conductivity is required, a carboxylated, sulfonated or phosphorylated polymer is preferably used assolid polymer electrolyte 15. If hydroxyl ions are needed, a polymer containing amino, imimo, ammonium, sulfonium, and phosphonium groups is preferably used assolid polymer electrolyte 15. To enhance the ionic conductivity ofmembrane 11, inorganic ionically-conductive materials, such as metal oxide (e.g., TiO2), silicon oxide, metal phosphates (e.g., zirconium phosphate) or heteropolyacids, may be impregnated into thesolid polymer electrolyte 15. - A preferred material for use as
solid polymer electrolyte 15 is a perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membrane, such as is commercially available from DuPont (Wilmington, Del.) as NAFION® PFSA polymer. Of the aforementioned NAFION® PFSA polymers, particularly preferred are those having an equivalent weight of 200 to 2000, even more preferably those having an equivalent weight of 500 to 1200, the optimal equivalent weight depending on the use to whichmembrane 11 is applied. - Various techniques may be used to couple
solid polymer electrolyte 15 to support 13. One such technique involves providing the solid polymer electrolyte in the form of a solution/dispersion (e.g., NAFION® 1100 in water or isopropanol) and then coatingsupport 13 with said solution/dispersion. Examples of suitable coating techniques include gravure coating, immersion (dip) coating, metering rod (Meyer bar) coating, slot die coating, rotary screen and air knife coating. The optimal coating technique for any particular case will depend on factors, such as instrument complexity, thickness accuracy, operation efficiency, initial investment, and the like. After the solution/dispersion is coated onto the support, the coated support is heated at about 50° C. to 100° C., preferably 80° C., for about 5 minutes to evaporate the solvent. If desired, one or more additional coatings may thereafter be applied. Said one or more additional coatings either may be of the same solution/dispersion previously applied in order to build up the thickness of the solid polymer electrolyte or may be different from the initial solution/dispersion in order to obtain a composite membrane with a multilayer electrolyte structure having desired properties. (An example of a composite membrane possessing such a multilayer structure is shown inFIG. 5 , saidcomposite membrane 51 comprising asupport 13, a firstsolid polymer electrolyte 53 and asecond polymer electrolyte 55.) After coating and drying each applied layer or after coating and drying all applied layers, the layer or layers are preferably cured by heating at a temperature greater than the glass transition temperature of the ionomer (e.g., 100° C. to 400° C., preferably 160° C. for 15 minutes). Such curing, which serves to sinter or anneal the ionomer, further enhances the mechanical properties of the membrane. - If desired, mask coating technology may be used to create a composite membrane wherein the solid polymer electrolyte is confined to certain patches or regions.
- As an alternative to coating, the solid polymer electrolyte may be applied by spraying the polymer electrolyte solution/dispersion onto
support 13. Conventional spraying techniques may be used for this purpose. Such spraying is preferably performed at 80° C. and does not require a subsequent solvent evaporation step. Micro-spraying may be used to create solid polymer electrolyte patches on the support, such patches, if desired, being far smaller than those capable of being produced by masked coating techniques. - Still another technique for incorporating the
solid polymer electrolyte 15 intosupport 13 involves a membrane extrusion technique. Such a technique comprises providing a solid polymer electrolyte in the form of a thin membrane, stacking the thin precursor membrane on the top and/or bottom surfaces ofsupport 13, and then pressing the stack together at an elevated temperature, preferably above the melting point or glass transition temperature of the membrane, so that the membrane melts and is forced into pores 21. In those instances in which the membrane does not melt upon heating, but rather, degrades upon heating, a membrane precursor may be heated and forced into the pores and thereafter may be chemically converted to the corresponding solid ionomer. For example, if one wished to fillpores 21 with a PFSA (which does not melt, but instead, degrades upon heating), one could use a PFSA precursor in which the acid groups are replaced with sulfonyl fluoride groups. In such a case, once the sulfonyl fluoride precursor has melted and has been forced intopores 21, a base may be added to the PFSA precursor to convert the PFSA precursor into PFSA by base hydrolysis. Wheresupport 13 is made of alumina or another ceramic material that degrades in the presence of a strong base (i.e., a base that donates an OH− group), a Lewis base (i.e., a base that accepts an H+), such as imidazole, is preferably used to convert the sulfonyl fluoride PFSA precursor into PFSA. - Still yet another technique for incorporating the
solid polymer electrolyte 15 intosupport 13 involves fillingpores 21 with a corresponding monomer and then polymerizing the monomer in situ to form the desired solid ionomer. Such polymerization may be effected with the use of an initiator (e.g., vinyl) mixed in with the monomer or by radiation (e.g., UV radiation). - Referring now to
FIG. 6 , there is shown a schematic section view of a third embodiment of a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane constructed according to the teachings of the present invention, said solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane being represented generally byreference numeral 111. -
Composite membrane 111 is similar in many respects tomembrane 11, the principle difference between the two membranes being that, whereasmembrane 11 includes aceramic support 13 whosepores 21 are formed by laser micromachining,membrane 111 includes aceramic support 113 whosepores 121 are formed by the controlled electrochemical oxidation (i.e., pitting) of a sheet of the base metal (e.g., aluminum, titanium, etc.). A top view ofsupport 113 is shown inFIG. 7 . As can be seen,support 113 has a honeycomb-like arrangement ofpores 121. WHATMAN ANODISC membrane filter, which is commercially available from Whatman International (United Kingdom) and is marketed for filtration purposes, is made of alumina and may be usedsupport 113. -
Pores 121 made by pitting a sheet of the base metal may have a diameter as small as about 0.01 μm. However, it should be noted that, where the diameter ofpores 121 is less than about 0.1 μm, pores 121 cannot easily be filled using a solution or dispersion of the solid ionomer. Consequently, preferred techniques for filling such small pores include the hot-extrusion and in-situ polymerization techniques described above. - The total thickness of
membrane - Membrane and electrode assemblies (MEAs) comprising the composite membrane of the present invention can be fabricated by pressing a precast Pt-supported on carbon/ionomer ink onto each side of the composite membrane. The foregoing method is typically referred to as the decal transfer method.
- One of the advantages of the composite membrane of the present invention is that catalyst ink can be directly coated or sprayed onto the top and bottom surfaces of the membrane. This direct coating of the catalyst ink is not practical for conventional ionomer membranes since such membranes change dimension when contacted with the ink. Since the composite membrane of the present invention has excellent dimensional stability when contacted with swelling agents, such as water or alcohols, the catalyst ink can be directly applied to the membrane.
- Another approach that may be used to fabricate an MEA using the composite membrane of the present invention involves a technique called “catalyst on diffusion media.” The diffusion medium of this technique is a porous electrically-conductive material, which is typically in the form of a thin sheet. Optionally, a microporous layer prepared from carbon black and a polymer binder may be applied to the diffusion medium. The catalyst is then sprayed onto the diffusion medium to form a diffusion electrode. A catalyst-loaded diffusion electrode is then pressed onto each side of the composite membrane to form a full MEA.
- The following examples are provided for illustrative purposes only and are in no way intended to limit the scope of the present invention:
- A plurality of pores were formed in a piece of 25 μm thick silica film using an excimer laser and near-field imaging. The diameter of each pore was 30 μm, and the distance between the centers of the pores was 60 μm. NAFION® PFSA solution, with an equivalent weight of 1100, was coated onto the porous film, and the product was then heated to dry off the solvent from the coated PFSA solution and to cure the PFSA polymer. The resultant composite membrane had a thickness of approximately 32 μm. The wet through-plane conductivity of the membrane was 0.05 S/cm, as compared to 0.10 S/cm for the neat ionomer.
- A 25 μm NAFION® precursor membrane in the sulfonyl fluoride form was pressed into a 60 μm WHATMAN ANODISC filter having a 1.0 μm pore size. Such pressing was effected at 350° C. at 300 psi for 1 hour. Conversion of the sulfonyl fluoride form of the membrane was then effected by hydrolyzing overnight with imidazole at 60° C. The resulting wet room temperature through-plane-conductivity of the membrane was 0.04 S/cm, as compared to 0.10 S/cm for the neat ionomer.
- The embodiments of the present invention recited herein are intended to be merely exemplary and those skilled in the art will be able to make numerous variations and modifications to it without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such variations and modifications are intended to be within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.
Claims (27)
1. A solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane, said solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane comprising:
(a) a ceramic support, said ceramic support having opposing top and bottom surfaces and a plurality of pores extending from said top surface to said bottom surface, wherein at least some of said pores are positioned in a peripheral portion of the ceramic support and at least some of said pores are positioned in a non-peripheral portion of the ceramic support and wherein said pores are positioned in a greater concentration in said non-peripheral portion than in said peripheral portion; and
(b) a first solid polymer electrolyte at least partially filling at least some of said pores.
2. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of pores extends in a straight line perpendicularly from said top surface to said bottom surface.
3. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein said plurality of pores are arranged in a non-random pattern.
4. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least some of said pores are arranged in a honeycomb pattern.
5. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pores are cylindrical in shape.
6. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pores have a diameter of about 0.01 to 200 microns.
7. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 6 wherein said pores have a diameter of about 1 to 200 microns.
8. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 6 wherein said pores have a diameter of about 0.01 to 100 microns.
9. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pores constitute about 20% to 95% of said ceramic support.
10. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 9 wherein said pores constitute about 40% to 70% of said ceramic support.
11. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ceramic support comprises a material selected from the group consisting of silica, quartz, glass, boron carbonate, silicon carbide, alumina, titania, silica tungstate, sintered valve metal oxides and non-conductive diamond or diamond-like coatings.
12. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 11 wherein said ceramic support comprises a ceramic selected from the group consisting of silica, alumina and silicon carbide.
13. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 12 wherein said ceramic support is made of alumina.
14. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ceramic support has a thickness of about 1 to 50 microns.
15. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 14 wherein said ceramic support has a thickness of about 7.5 to 15 microns.
16. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein said first solid polymer electrolyte is selected from the group consisting of polymer compositions that contain metal salts, polymeric gels that contain electrolyte and ion exchange resins.
17. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 16 wherein said first solid polymer electrolyte is an ion exchange resin.
18. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 17 wherein said first solid polymer electrolyte is perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) polymer.
19. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 18 wherein said PFSA polymer has an equivalent weight of about 200 to 2000.
20. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 19 wherein said PFSA polymer has an equivalent weight of about 500 to 1200.
21. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein all of said pores are completely filled with said first solid polymer electrolyte and wherein said top and bottom surfaces of said ceramic support are covered with said first solid polymer electrolyte.
22. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein said solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane has a thickness of about 5 to 300 microns.
23. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 22 wherein said solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane has a thickness of about 7.5 to 200 microns.
24. The solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane as claimed in claim 1 wherein said solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane has an ionic conductivity of 0.001 S/cm to 0.7 S/cm at room temperature with a relative humidity of 100%.
25. A method of preparing a solid polymer electrolyte composite membrane, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a ceramic support, said ceramic support having a top surface and a bottom surface;
(b) lasing at least one pore in said ceramic support, said at least one pore extending transversely from said top surface to said bottom surface; and
(c) filling at least one of said at least one pore with a first solid polymer electrolyte.
26. The method as claimed in claim 25 wherein said step of providing a ceramic support comprises providing a metal sheet and electrochemically oxidizing said metal sheet.
27. A method of preparing a perfluorosulfonic acid polymer, said method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a sulfonyl fluoride precursor of said perfluorosulfonic acid polymer; and
(b) adding a weak base to said sulfonyl fluoride precursor to convert said sulfonyl fluoride precursor to said perfluorosulfonic acid polymer.
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WO2014108863A2 (en) | 2013-01-10 | 2014-07-17 | Sabic Innovative Plastics Ip B.V. | Laser-perforated porous solid-state films and applications thereof |
US9209443B2 (en) | 2013-01-10 | 2015-12-08 | Sabic Global Technologies B.V. | Laser-perforated porous solid-state films and applications thereof |
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CN106558662A (en) * | 2015-09-28 | 2017-04-05 | 大连融科储能技术发展有限公司 | Ion-conductive membranes, using the flow battery and preparation method of the ion-conductive membranes |
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US20060183011A1 (en) | 2006-08-17 |
US7947405B2 (en) | 2011-05-24 |
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