Since the 1950s polymeric materials have been pursued as electrolytes in fuel cell applications. While a wide variety of polyelectrolytes have been developed and studied (including, but not limited to, poly(perfluorosulfonic acid)s, polystyrene derivatives, polysulfones, polyimides, and engineered block copolymer electrolytes) there still remain many unanswered question about the structure-property relationships of these varied materials. Devices are assembled with multiple heterogeneous materials and failure, or performance losses, can largely occur at the interfaces between these materials. While the structure and transport of bulk PEMs for fuel cell applications have been studied extensively, there has been little effort focused on these materials at interfaces and under confinement as they exist within the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of a working PEM fuel cell. This talk will cover research investigating two aspects of polyelectrolyte confinement. First, we will present our comprehensive work using a variety of measurement techniques on the effects of geometric/substrate confinement on the properties of Nafion thin films. Second, we will explore the effects of chemistry and structure on the confinement and distribution of water in alkaline, anion exchange block copolymer materials using small-angle neutron scattering.

Role of interfaces, chemistry, and morphology on the structure, water distribution/transport, and physical properties of multicomponent polyelectrolyte membranes for fuel cell applications

248th National Meeting (2014)

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