Self-Humidifying Proton Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications: Advances and Challenges
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Self-Humidifying PEMs Incorporated with Inorganic Additives
3. Self-Humidifying PEMs Incorporated with Highly Proton-Conductive Additives
4. Self-Humidifying PEMs Incorporated with Carbon-Based Additives
5. Prevailing Challenges and Possible Remedies
6. Future Prospects of Self-Humidifying PEMs
7. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Samples | Thickness (µm) | Proton Conductivity/IEC | WU (%) | Max. Power Density (W cm−2) | OCV (V) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plain Nafion [41] | 50 | - | 16.9 (60 °C) | − | 0.85 (dry) |
Pt–SiO2/Nafion [41] | 50 | - | 41.2 (60 °C) | − | 0.96 (dry) |
Nafion 212 [50] | 50 | - | 21.08 (60 °C) | 0.88 (80 °C, dry) | − |
Pt–SiO2/ Nafion/PTFE [50] | 25 | - | 38.7 (60 °C) | 1.29 (80 °C, dry) | − |
Nafion/PTFE [51] | 20 | - | 24.5 (≈100 °C) | 0.98 (60 °C, dry) | 0.93 (dry) |
Pt–SiO2/Nafion/PTFE (Multilayer) [51] | 20 | - | 54.5 (≈100 °C) | 1.4 (60 °C, dry) | 1.032 (dry) |
SPEEK/PTFE [52] | 24 | 8.5 mS cm−1 (dry) | 24 (60 °C) | 0.33 (60 °C, dry) | 0.94 (dry) |
Pt–SiO2/SPEEK/PTFE (Multilayer) [52] | 24 | 20 mS cm−1 (dry) | 31 (60 °C) | 0.8 (60 °C, dry) | 0.98 (dry) |
Pt–TiO2/Nafion [53] | 50 | - | 37.9 (60 °C) | 0.65 (80 °C, dry) | 0.96 (dry) |
Recast Nafion [54] | 40 | 0.91 meq g−1 | 30.6 (30 °C) | 0.14 (50 °C, dry) | 0.77 (dry) |
Pt–SA/Nafion [54] | 40 | 0.89 meq g−1 | 42.1 (30 °C) | 0.91 (50 °C, dry) | 0.87 (dry) |
0.22 wt % Pt–zeolite HY/Nafion [58] | 50 | - | 10.4 (ambient) | @0.6 V ≈ 0.3 (50 °C, dry) | 0.95 (50 °C, dry) |
0.65 wt % Pt–zeolite HY/Nafion [58] | 50 | - | 15.2 (ambient) | @0.6 V ≈ 0.6 (50 °C, dry) | 0.98 (50 °C, dry) |
1.5 wt % Pt–zeolite HY/Nafion [58] | 50 | - | 38.6 (ambient) | @0.6 V ≈ 0.45 (50 °C, dry) | 0.96 (50 °C, dry) |
Pure Nafion [59] | 60 | 13.1 mS cm−1 (25 °C, wet) | 22.5 (25 °C) | ≈0.5 (60 °C, dry) | 0.86 (dry) |
Pt–clay/Nafion [59] | 60 | 11.1 mS cm−1 (25 °C, wet) | 23 (25 °C) | ≈0.94 (60 °C, dry) | 0.881 (dry) |
Pure Nafion [61] | 9 | 38 mS cm−1 (60 °C, 70%RH) | - | 0.873 (60 °C, dry) | 0.587 (dry) |
Pt–LDHs/Nafion [61] | 9 | 39 mS cm−1 (60 °C, 70%RH) | - | 1.174 (60 °C, dry) | 0.705 (dry) |
Plain SPEEK [68] | 24 | 13 mS cm−1 (40 °C, 100% RH) | 16 (40 °C) | 0.54 (60 °C, dry) | 0.96 (dry) |
Pt–SZ/SPEEK [68] | 24 | 17 mS cm−1 (40 °C, 100% RH) | 20 (40 °C) | 0.95 (60 °C, dry) | 1.015 (dry) |
Pt–Cs2.5/SPEEK [77] | 24 | 53 mS cm−1 (60 °C, wet) | 30.6 (60 °C) | 1.14 (60 °C, dry) | 0.99 (dry) |
Pure SPEEK [80] | 43 | 1.82 meq g−1 | 34.8 (50 °C) | - | 0.831 (dry) |
Pt–Cs2.5/SPEEK [80] | 45 | 1.96 meq g−1 | 45.9 (50 °C) | - | 1.156 (dry) |
Pt/Nafion/PTFE [89] | 35 | - | - | - | 0.897 (dry) |
Pt–C/Nafion/PTFE [89] | 35 | - | - | - | 0.932 (dry) |
Pt–C/Nafion(Double layer) [90] | 30 | - | - | ≈0.5 (60 °C, dry) | 0.953 (50 °C, wet) |
Pt–CNT/Nafion (Multilayer) [91] | 25 | - | 22.18 (80 °C) | - | 1.01 (80 °C, dry) |
Pt–CNF/Nafion [92] | 25 | 0.9 meq g−1 | 25 (80 °C) | 0.688 (50 °C, dry) | ~0.73 (50 °C, dry) |
Sulfonated Pt–CNF/ Nafion [92] | 25 | 1.12 meq g−1 | 36 (80 °C) | 0.921 (50 °C, dry) | ~0.83 (50 °C, dry) |
0.5 wt % Pt–G/Nafion [95] | - | 97 mS cm−1 (ambient, wet) | 31 (ambient) | ≈0.2 (80 °C dry) | 0.77 (80 °C, dry) |
3.0 wt % Pt–G/Nafon [95] | - | 100 mS cm−1 (ambient, wet) | 30 (ambient) | ≈0.25 (80 °C, dry) | 0.9 (80 °C, dry) |
4.5 wt % Pt–G/Nafion [95] | - | 105 mS cm−1 (ambient, wet) | 29 (ambient) | ≈0.2 (80 °C, dry) | 0.76 (80 °C, dry) |
3.0 wt % Pt–G/ 1.5 wt % SiO2/Nafion [96] | - | 91 mS cm−1 (ambient, wet) | 27 (ambient) | ≈0.12 (80 °C, dry) | 0.89 (80 °C, dry) |
3.0 wt % Pt–G/ 3.0 wt % SiO2/Nafion [96] | - | 92 mS cm−1 (ambient, wet) | 30 (ambient) | ≈0.13 (80 °C, dry) | 0.96 (80 °C, dry) |
Casting Nafion [97] | - | 60 mS cm−1 (ambient, wet) | 32.5 (ambient) | ≈0.0 (80 °C, dry) | 0.68 (80 °C, dry) |
0.7Pt–TiO2/ 0.3 GO/Nafion [97] | - | 115 mS cm−1 (ambient, wet) | 37.5 (ambient) | ≈0.3 (80 °C, dry) | 0.94 (80 °C, dry) |
0.8Pt–TiO2/ 0.2 GO/Nafion [97] | - | 118 mS cm−1 (ambient, wet) | 37 (ambient) | ≈0.5 (80 °C, dry) | 0.97 (80 °C, dry) |
Recast Nafion [99] | 25 | 122 mS cm−1 (80 °C, wet) | 25.2 (80 °C) | - | ≈0.99 (dry) |
Pt–PDDA /Nafion/PTFE [99] | 25 | 74 mS cm−1 (80 °C, wet) | 16.3 (80 °C) | - | ≈1.01 (dry) |
Challenges | Remedies | Ref. |
---|---|---|
High ohmic resistance (hygroscopic additives) | Smaller additives with higher surface area can be used. | [41] |
Hybrid of proton-conductive and hygroscopic materials can be used. | [70] | |
Functionalization can provide more proton-conductive sites. | [72] | |
High ohmic resistance (proton conductors) | Either insufficient or excessive amount of additive/catalyst is used. This amount should be optimized. | [80] |
High ohmic resistance | In any case, thinner membranes can boost proton conductivity. | [61] |
Mechanical instability of ultra-thin membranes | Can be reinforced with PTFE support. | [50] |
High gas cross-over rate and low OCV value | Multilayer structures can effectively suppress permeated reactants. | [51] |
Uniform distribution of catalysts provides abundant recombination active catalytic sites. | [97] | |
Agglomeration or migration of additives | Surface modification or the functionalization of additives can solve this issue. | [60] |
Mechanical brittleness | Better dispersion and compatibility with the polymer matrix can improve the mechanical resilience of PEMs. | [81] |
Electron short circuit | Multilayer approach can eliminate this problem. | [90] |
Functionalization can solve the electron transfer issue. | [92] | |
Pt particles can be stabilized by a polymeric matrix with positive charge. | [99] | |
Free radical-induced chemical degradation in OCV test | Cs2.5H0.5PW12O40 scavenges H2O2 and inhibits free radical formation. | [83] |
Anode-side dehydration at high current densities | A self-humidifying layer near the anode electrode can prevent dehydration. | [90] |
Use of thinner membranes can improve water back-diffusion. | [41] |
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Mirfarsi, S.H.; Parnian, M.J.; Rowshanzamir, S. Self-Humidifying Proton Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications: Advances and Challenges. Processes 2020, 8, 1069. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8091069
Mirfarsi SH, Parnian MJ, Rowshanzamir S. Self-Humidifying Proton Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications: Advances and Challenges. Processes. 2020; 8(9):1069. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8091069
Chicago/Turabian StyleMirfarsi, Seyed Hesam, Mohammad Javad Parnian, and Soosan Rowshanzamir. 2020. "Self-Humidifying Proton Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications: Advances and Challenges" Processes 8, no. 9: 1069. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8091069