Polymers 2011, 3(3), 1126-1150; doi:10.3390/polym3031126
Article

Towards Extrusion of Ionomers to Process Fuel Cell Membranes

Yannick Molmeret 1,2 email, France Chabert 1,2 email, Nadia El Kissi 1,* email, Cristina Iojoiu 2 email, Regis Mercier 3 email and Jean-Yves Sanchez 2,* email
1 Laboratoire de Rhéologie, BP53, 38041 Grenoble Cedex 9, France 2 Laboratoire d’Electrochimie et de Physico-chimie des Matériaux et Interfaces, 8402 Saint Martin d’Hères Cedex, France 3 LMOPS - BP 24 - 69390 Vernaison, France
* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 30 May 2011; in revised form: 4 June 2011 / Accepted: 18 July 2011 / Published: 19 July 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conductive Polymers)
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Abstract: While Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) membranes are currently prepared by film casting, this paper demonstrates the feasibility of extrusion, a solvent-free alternative process. Thanks to water-soluble process-aid plasticizers, duly selected, it was possible to extrude acidic and alkaline polysulfone ionomers. Additionally, the feasibility to extrude composites was demonstrated. The impact of the plasticizers on the melt viscosity was investigated. Following the extrusion, the plasticizers were fully removed in water. The extrusion was found to impact neither on the ionomer chains, nor on the performances of the membrane. This environmentally friendly process was successfully validated for a variety of high performance ionomers.
Keywords: ion conducting polymers; extrusion; ionomers; sulfonated polysulfones; PEMFC

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MDPI and ACS Style

Molmeret, Y.; Chabert, F.; Kissi, N.E.; Iojoiu, C.; Mercier, R.; Sanchez, J.-Y. Towards Extrusion of Ionomers to Process Fuel Cell Membranes. Polymers 2011, 3, 1126-1150.

AMA Style

Molmeret Y, Chabert F, Kissi NE, Iojoiu C, Mercier R, Sanchez J-Y. Towards Extrusion of Ionomers to Process Fuel Cell Membranes. Polymers. 2011; 3(3):1126-1150.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Molmeret, Yannick; Chabert, France; Kissi, Nadia El; Iojoiu, Cristina; Mercier, Regis; Sanchez, Jean-Yves. 2011. "Towards Extrusion of Ionomers to Process Fuel Cell Membranes." Polymers 3, no. 3: 1126-1150.

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