Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are promising alternatives to fossil fuels due to their inert byproducts (water and heat) and reduced emissions. Perfluorinated sulfonic-acid (PFSA) ionomers are ion-conducting polymers commonly used as the conductive membrane in hydrogen fuel cells. Despite their widespread commercial use, there remains a need to understand how the structure of PFSAs influences the morphology and the transport properties in these materials. In this work, morphology-property relationships of dispersion-cast membranes from commercially available PFSAs were established using a range of materials characterization techniques. The crystalline and ionic morphology of the phase-separated PFSA morphologies were probed using contrast-matching small-angle X-ray scattering experiments of the membranes neutralized in various counterion forms. The thermomechanical properties of the PFSA membranes were investigated using dynamic mechanical analysis. The transport properties of the membranes were characterized via water vapor sorption analysis and proton conductivity. Using these methods, the morphologies and properties of PFSAs bearing different side chain lengths and ionic equivalent weights were characterized.

Morphology-property relationships of dispersion-cast perfluorinated sulfonic-acid (PFSA) membranes

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