Polymer blending has proven instrumental in the production of materials with tunable properties suitable for a variety of applications. In recent years, polymer blends have been investigated for their potential use as polymer electrolyte membranes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). This paper investigates the constitutive properties and swelling of ionomeric polymer blends comprised of sulfonated perfluorocyclobutane (PFCB) and polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) to obtain a comprehensive constitutive model required to accurately predict the hygrothermal mechanical stress of a PFCB/PVDF fuel cell membrane subjected to fuel cell operating conditions. The research herein focuses specifically on obtaining the viscoelastic and hygral swelling properties under dry, humidified, and water immersed conditions, and how these properties compare with Nafion� NRE 211. Nafion NRE 211 was chosen to compare with the PFCB/PVDF blended membrane material because Nafion is a common material widely used for fuel cell membranes and a previous constitutive characterization has been completed on Nafion NRE 211.

ESR detection of early events in the fragmentation of perfluorinated model compounds and relevance to the stability of polymeric membranes used in fuel cells

240th National Meeting (2010)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.