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.

본 연구에서는 역전기투석 응용을 위해 엔지니어링 고분자 기반의 이오노머와 다공성 폴리에틸렌 지지체를 사용 한 세공충진 이온교환막을 제조하고 이를 결합한 이오노머-세공충진 복합막을 제조하였다. 이온전도도가 높은 이오노머와 우 수한 기계적 강도를 가진 세공충진막을 결합함으로써 상용 이온교환막(AMX/CMX, Astom Corp., Japan) 대비 동등 수준의 전기화학적 특성 및 응용에 적합한 물리적 안정성을 확보할 수 있었다. 제조된 이오노머-세공충진 복합막을 이용하여 역전기 투석 성능을 평가한 결과 상용막 대비 음이온 교환막의 경우 86.4%, 양이온 교환막은 104.8% 수준의 우수한 발전성능을 나 타내었다.

Perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers have been widely used as membranes in the fields of green power generation and electrolysis. In spite of their high ion-conducting properties, it is difficult to apply them in the freestanding membrane state to harsh operation conditions owing to their chemical and electrochemical degradation issues. A promising membrane concept to satisfy this purpose would be “pore-filling membrane” composed of PFSA ionomers and porous PTFE support films. In this study, the porous PTFE support film treated with a cheap hydrophilic polymer is used as a reinforced material. Interestingly, the resulting PFSA-PTFE pore-filling membranes exhibit an extremely high proton conductivity with a fairly reduced ionomer content, which may give a valuable information to design a desirable pore-filling membrane.