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Membranes
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Ion-Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cells
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Ion-Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cells

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 5369

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Dengpan Dong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
Interests: polymers electrolytes; membranes; fuel cells; molecular simulations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ion-exchange membranes are key components in the development of fuel cells, electrolysis, water treatment, and dialysis. Despite the dramatic differences in the routes of technological realizations and the status of commercialization, the mechanistic fundamentals remain unchanged, i.e., transporting certain ions while blocking other ions or neutral molecules. Commercial success has been achieved in numerous technological protocols while others struggle at the stage of development in the lab. The impacts of the latter at a global scale deserve continuous investment both experimentally and theoretically. For instance, cation-exchange membranes for the operation of fuel cells have been commercially available since the discovery of Nafion in the late 1960s. In the meantime, though they are cleaner and more environmentally friendly, alkaline fuel cells enabled by anion-exchange membranes are experiencing setbacks because of their limited chemical stability and reduced ionic conductivity. One of the major tasks is still the discovery of optimized materials at a relatively low cost. Experiment–theory joint studies are boosting research in this area. These issues are to be addressed in the following 5–10 years via close cooperation between experimental synthesis/characterization and the construction of theoretical models.

Our Special Issue is dedicated to collecting all research works involving synthesis, characterization, device-making, and theoretical studies in the field of the anion-exchange process in a membrane. The applications of studied membranes include, but are not limited to, fuel cells, water electrolysis, and water purification. Informatics in the discovery of novel material structures is also welcome.

Dr. Dengpan Dong
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ion-exchange membranes
  • materials chemistry
  • synthesis/characterization
  • fuel cells
  • multi-scale theoretical studies
  • ionic transport
  • materials informatics

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 9548 KiB  
Article
Synthesis of Anion Exchange Membranes Containing PVDF/PES and Either PEI or Fumion®
by Luis Javier Salazar-Gastelum, Brenda Yazmin Garcia-Limon, Shui Wai Lin, Julio Cesar Calva-Yañez, Arturo Zizumbo-Lopez, Tatiana Romero-Castañón, Moises Israel Salazar-Gastelum and Sergio Pérez-Sicairos
Membranes 2022, 12(10), 959; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12100959 - 30 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2512
Abstract
In this work, the preparation of dense blended membranes, from blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), poly(ether sulfone) (PES) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) or Fumion®, with possible applications in alkaline fuel cell (AEMFC) is reported. The blended PEI/Fumion® membranes were prepared under [...] Read more.
In this work, the preparation of dense blended membranes, from blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), poly(ether sulfone) (PES) and polyethyleneimine (PEI) or Fumion®, with possible applications in alkaline fuel cell (AEMFC) is reported. The blended PEI/Fumion® membranes were prepared under a controlled air atmosphere by a solvent evaporation method, and were characterized regarding water uptake, swelling ratio, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ion exchange capacity (IEC), OH− conductivity and novel hydroxide ion exchange rate (HIER), which is related to the mass transport capacity of the OH− ions through the membrane. The effect of the chemical composition on its morphological and anion exchange properties was evaluated. It was expected that the usage of a commercial ionomer Fumion®, in the blended membranes would result in better features in the electrical/ionic conductivity behaviour. However, two of the membranes containing PEI exhibited a higher HIER and OH− conductivity than Fumion® membranes, and were excellent option for potential applications in AEMFC, considering their performance and the cost of Fumion®-based membranes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ion-Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cells)
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18 pages, 4447 KiB  
Article
Ionomer Membranes Produced from Hexaarylbenzene-Based Partially Fluorinated Poly(arylene ether) Blends for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
by Tzu-Sheng Huang, Hsin-Yi Wen, Yi-Yin Chen, Po-Hao Hung, Tung-Li Hsieh, Wen-Yao Huang and Mei-Ying Chang
Membranes 2022, 12(6), 582; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12060582 - 31 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2036
Abstract
In this study, a series of high molecular weight ionomers of hexaarylbenzene- and fluorene-based poly(arylene ether)s were synthesized conveniently through condensation and post-sulfonation modification. The use a of blending method might increase the stacking density of chains and affect the formation both of [...] Read more.
In this study, a series of high molecular weight ionomers of hexaarylbenzene- and fluorene-based poly(arylene ether)s were synthesized conveniently through condensation and post-sulfonation modification. The use a of blending method might increase the stacking density of chains and affect the formation both of interchain and intrachain proton transfer clusters. Multiscale phase separation caused by the dissolution and compatibility differences of blend ionomer in high-boiling-point solvents was examined through analysis and simulations. The blend membranes produced in this study exhibited a high proton conductivity of 206.4 mS cm−1 at 80 °C (increased from 182.6 mS cm−1 for precursor membranes), excellent thermal resistance (decomposition temperature > 200 °C), and suitable mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 73.8–77.4 MPa. As a proton exchange membrane for fuel cell applications, it exhibits an excellent power efficiency of approximately 1.3 W cm−2. Thus, the ionomer membranes have strong potential for use in proton exchange membrane fuel cells and other electrochemical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ion-Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cells)
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