Aliphatic/aromatic polyimide ionomers as a proton conductive membrane for fuel cell applications

Naoki Asano; Makoto Aoki; Shinsuke Suzuki; Kenji Miyatake; Hiroyuki Uchida; Masahiro Watanabe

doi:10.1021/ja0571491

Aliphatic/aromatic polyimide ionomers as a proton conductive membrane for fuel cell applications

J Am Chem Soc. 2006 Feb 8;128(5):1762-9. doi: 10.1021/ja0571491.

Authors

Naoki Asano¹, Makoto Aoki, Shinsuke Suzuki, Kenji Miyatake, Hiroyuki Uchida, Masahiro Watanabe

Affiliation

¹ Clean Energy Research Center, and Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4 Takeda, Kofu 400-8510, Japan.

PMID: 16448153
DOI: 10.1021/ja0571491

Abstract

To produce a proton conductive and durable polymer electrolyte membrane for fuel cell applications, a series of sulfonated polyimide ionomers containing aliphatic groups both in the main and in the side chains have been synthesized. The title polyimide ionomers 1 with the ion exchange capacity of 1.78-2.33 mequiv/g were obtained by a typical polycondensation reaction as transparent, ductile, and flexible membranes. The proton conductivity of 1 was slightly lower than that of the perfluorinated ionomer (Nafion) below 100 degrees C, but comparable at higher temperature and 100% RH. The highest conductivity of 0.18 S cm(-)(1) was obtained for 1 at 140 degrees C. Ionomer 1 with high IEC and branched chemical structure exhibited improved proton conducting behavior without sacrificing membrane stability. Microscopic analyses revealed that smaller (<5 nm) and well-dispersed hydrophilic domains contribute to better proton conducting properties. Hydrogen and oxygen permeability of 1 was 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than that of Nafion under both dry and wet conditions. Fuel cell was fabricated with 1 membrane and operated at 80 degrees C and 0.2 A/cm(2) supplying H(2) and air both at 60% or 90% RH. Ionomer 1 membrane showed comparable performance to Nafion and was durable for 5000 h without distinct degradation.