Perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers have been commonly used as representative polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) materials for fuel cell electric vehicles owing to their fast proton transport and excellent chemical resistance. However, PFSA materials still have weakness associated with chemical degradation occurring as a result from radical attacks, which induce membrane thickness reduction, leading to hydrogen crossover, and/or reduced electrochemical performances. In this study, cerium derivative radical scavengers were designed as functional additives to enhance the chemical durability of PFSA PEM. Their optimum content was suggested, comprehensively considering their radical resistance as well as other fundamental characteristics associated with long-term durability and electrochemical performance.

Perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers have been used as polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) materials owing to their excellent chemical durability and proton conductivity. However, the PFSA ionomers are suffering from fast hydrogen crossover and, thereby, chemical degradation in the membrane state. To solve these issues is to make reinforced membranes by filling proton-conductive PFSA ionomers in the pores of chemically robust poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) support films. However, it is very difficult to obtain PFSA-PTFE reinforced membranes with improved hydrogen barrier property. In this study, PFSA-PTFE reinforced membranes were fabricated by immersing commercial reinforced membrane in PFSA ionomer dispersions with different chemical architectures and particle sizes and their effects were systematically investigated.

PEMFC is an eco-friendly and sustainable electrochemical generation system to convert chemical energy of fuels into electric energy. Proton exchange membrane(PEM) is key material to decide PEMFC performances. Representative PEM materials is perfluorinated sulfonic acid(PFSA) composed of a chemically stable PTFE backbone and ion conductive side chains. PFSA is classified into long-side chain(LCC-PFSA) and short-side chain(SCC-PFSA). Normally, SCC-PFSA can induce high packing density and gas barrier properties when it is made in PEM state. In spite of these advantages, it is hard to make desirable SCC-PFSA PEMs due to its relatively high Tg and low EW. In this study, the effects of PEM fabrication histories on basic properties of SCC-PFSA ionomers were observed by varying parameters such as casting solvent and thermal annealing condition.

The anion exchange membrane (AEM) has a structure having a group of positively charged ions inside, and selectively permeates the anion of the electrolyte. In addition, excellent ion conductivity and chemical durability, and highly reliable electrochemical performance are required. However, commercially available AEMs have a hydrocarbon-based backbone. It is difficult to make the thin film because of low solubility. As a result, it has low ionic conductivity and high area resistivity and shows limitations in electrochemical applications. In this study, a perfluorinated ionomer-based anion exchange membrane with excellent chemical stability is prepared and shows enhanced anion conductivity in electrochemical applications.

Perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers have been widely used as representative polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) materials for water electrolysis to generate hydrogen and oxygen gases with a high purity (e.g., 99.999%) simultaneously. PEM should satisfy high selectivity of proton to water and act as gas barrier to hydrogen and oxygen in order to improve current efficiency which is a barometer to determine how effectively the electric energy is used for water electrolysis. In this study, PFSA ionomers with different chemical architectures and equivalent weights were used to make PEM materials for water electrolysis. The structure-property-performance relationship was systematically investigated.

Perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers have been widely used as representative polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) materials for fuel cells and water/salined water electrolysis. The PFSA membranes need to satisfy selective transport behaviors to small molecules including gases and ionic species; the PFSA membranes have to transport protons as fast as possible, while they should act as hydrogen barriers, since the permeated gas induces the thermal degradation of cathode catalyst, resulting in rapid electrochemical reduction. In this study, hydrogen permeation properties of PFSA membranes are evaluated using a handmade measurement system, which is designed for measuring gas transport properties through PEM materials or membrane-electrode assembly under actual fuel cell operation conditions.

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEFCs) are eco-friendly energy conversion systems to convert hydrogen directly into electricity via an electrocatalytic reaction. Representative membrane materials of PEFCs are Perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers including Nafion® and 3M ionomers. In spite of high proton conductivity, it is difficult to apply PFSA free-standing membranes in real PEFC applications owing to their weak mechanical failures and thermo-chemical decomposition during PFEC operations, in addition to a relatively high production cost. In this study, Nafion nanodispersions in water-alcohol mixtures are fabricated using a supercritical fluid technique. The fundamental membrane characteristics are compared with those of counterpart membranes obtained from a commercially available Nafion emulsion.

Perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers such as Nafion® and 3M ionomers have been used as polymer electrolyte membrane materials for fuel cells owing to their excellent chemical inertness, and high proton conductivity. The membrane characteristics are highly affected by their fabrication history as well as chemical structure. It is important to choose appropriate solvents for membrane preparation, since a relatively low solubility of PFSA ionomers may result in fairly different morphological features, which influence the transport behavior of small molecules such as proton and water through the resulting membranes. In this study, PFSA membranes are prepared using a variety of solvents with different properties and their fundamental characteristics and morphologies are compared each other.

The Chlor-alkali (CA) membrane cell is a major electrolysis system to produce valued chemicals such as chlorine gas and sodium hydroxide. The CA membrane process has been attracted in the industries, since it has relatively low energy consumption when compared with other CA processes. The key component in CA process is perfluorinated sulfonic acid ionomer membranes, which provide ion-selectivity and barrier properties to produced gases. Unfortunately, there is limited information to determine which factors should be satisfied for CA applications. In this study, the influences of PFSA membranes on CA performances are disclosed. They include ion transport behaviors, gas evolution capability, and chemical/electrochemical resistances under CA operation conditions.

클로알칼리(CA) 멤브레인 셀은 대표적인 염수전해 시스템으로서 가성소다와 염소를 생산하는 염수전기분해 프로세스이다. CA 멤브레인 프로세스는 타 공정에 비해 낮은 에너지 소모량을 가져 CA산업에서 가장 선호되는 공정이다. CA프 로세스에 사용되는 과불소계 술폰화 이오노머막은 CA프로세스의 핵심구성 요소이며, 양이온을 선택적으로 이동시키는 역할 및 배리어적인 역할을 제공한다. 하지만, CA 구동을 위해 충족되어야 하는 요소들에 대한 정보가 제한적이기 때문에 알맞은 CA분리막 적용을 위한 제품 간의 연구가 필요하다. 본 연구에서는 실제 셀 구동을 바탕으로 하여 상용 고불소계 분리막의 이온전도경향 및 전기화학적 성능 등을 평가하였다.

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEFCs) are eco-friendly energy conversion systems to convert hydrogen directly into electricity via an electrocatalytic reaction. Representative membrane materials of PEFCs are Perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers including NafionⓇ and 3M ionomers. In spite of high proton conductivity, it is difficult to apply PFSA free-standing membranes in real PEFC applications owing to their weak mechanical failures and thermo-chemical decomposition during PFEC operations, in addition to a relatively high production cost. In this study, Nafion nanodispersions in water-alcohol mixtures are fabricated using a supercritical fluid technique. The fundamental membrane characteristics are compared with those of counterpart membranes obtained from a commercially available Nafion emulsion.

Perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers have been widely used as representative polymer electrolyte membrane materials for fuel cells and water/salined water electrolyses. The PFSA ionomers membranes need to satisfy complicated transport behaviors to small molecules including gases and ionic species. That is, the PFSA ionomers membranes have to transport protons as fast as possible, while the membranes should act as hydrogen barriers, since the permeated gas induces thermal degradation of cathode catalyst resulting in rapid reduction in fuel cell performances. In this study, it is disclosed that these permeation behaviors can be easily tunable by controlling membrane processing histories even though the ionomers have the same chemical architecture and equivalent weight.

Salined water electrolysis is an electrochemical reaction to produce chlorine gas and sodium hydroxide as major products from salined water. Perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers and their derivatives have been usually used as polymeric electrolytes with high sodium ion selectivity and barrier property to chlorine and hydrogen gases. In spite of their industrial importance, there is little information on the relationship of their chemical features and electrochemical performances. In this study, fundamental characteristics of commercially available PFSA family materials are compared each other. Their electrochemical performances are evaluated in the same salined water electrolysis cell. The obtained results are expected to provide membrane material design factors for low energy-consuming salined water electrolysis.

Perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers have been widely used for renewable energy generation, including polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), owing to their excellent resistance to harsh chemicals and good ion-transport properties. PFSA materials experience critical chemical decomposition to radical attacks, and fast hydrogen crossover leading to fairly reduced electrochemical performances, when they are used as membrane materials. Similar chemical degradation also occurs in PEFC electrodes containing PFSA ionomer binders used as both mechanical supporters and proton conductors and shortens PEFC lifetime. In this study, several approaches based on their morphological rearrangement to overcome these economical and technical issues are proposed. They include pore-filling membrane formation, nanodispersion, and their combination.

Perfluorinated sulfonic acid ionomers (PFSAs) have been used as cationic membrane materials for polymer electrolyte fuel cells, redox flow batteries. PFSAs exhibit high ionic conductivity and chemical toughness. Unfortunately, it is difficult to tune fundamental characteristics of commercially available PFSA membranes. On the other hand, protonated PFSA emulsion in water-alcohol mixture is useful in making modified PFSA membranes. The formation of the PFSA membranes, however, requires additional steps such as NaCl treatment, water treatment, and drying. These processes act as rate-determining steps for PFSA membrane fabrication. In this study, a simple salt conversion process is achieved in the PFSA emulsion. The process contributes to enhanced morphological transition and fast proton transport through the resulting membranes.

과불소계 술폰화 이오노머(perfluorinated sulfonic acid ionomers; PFSAs)는 뛰어난 수소이온전도성과 높은 내화학성으로 인해 고분자 전해질 연료전지(polymer electrolyte fuel cells)용 고체전해질로 널리 사용되고 있다. 그러나 PFSA 전해질은 가습-건조조건에서 연료전지가 구동에 따라 반복적인 팽윤-수축으로 인해 전극층이 전해질로부터 탈리되어 전기화학적 수명특성이 감소되는 문제점을 가지고 있다. 본 연구에서는 다공성 PTFE support film의 기공특성에 대한 이해를 바탕으 로 기공구조 내 나피온 이오노머를 함침시키는 강화막을 제조하였고, 기본특성을 평가하였다. 제조된 강화막은 매우 높은 수 소이온전도도(~0.5 S cm-1@90°C in liquid water)를 나타내었다.