Fluoro-phosphonic Membranes for High Temperature Fuel Cells – MEMFOS

MEMFOS project aims at developping a new synthetic strategy to afford, in the next few years, a newly formed polyelectrolyte membrane for fuel cell (PEMFC). This new PEMFC will perform for stationnay use as well as at high temperature (120°C or more). More precisely, unlike commercially available PEMFC, this membrane will be used in a wide range of temperature (from room temperature to 150°C) both with humid and dry gazes. This project will allow to overcome one of the main drawbacks in order to developp the PEMFC-based energy technology. Until now, no membrane is able to lead to high protonic conductivities both in a wide range of temperature (from room temperature to 150°C) and in a wide range of relative humidity (from dry to 100%). With the MEMFOS project we want to develop a new type of fluoro-phosphonic polymeric membranes giving rise of high conductivity values both in a wide range of temperature (from room temperature to 150°C) and in a wide range of relative humidity (from dry to 100%). A first generation of fluoro-phosphonic polymeric membrane has been already made by IAM (phD 2006-09) by chemical modification of fluorinated polymers, obtained by radical polymerization. This first generation of polymeric membranes had been patented (three partners from MEMFOS project) and represents the "back up" of the MEMFOS project. The ionic exchange capacities obtained from these membranes range from 4 to 6 meq/g, leading to protonic conductivities of about 20 mS/cm (both at dry and 100% relative humidity).