Multifunctional ionic polymer membrane systems – Symposium

The project is aimed to overcome one of the key restrictions of membranes for fuel cell application, namely thermal management associated with the electrochemical performance. New composite membranes, stable over a wide temperature range, will be elaborated by way of incorporation and immobilization of the ionic liquids (ILs) inside the polymer matrix. Such an approach will lead to the synthesis of stable at high temperatures (up to 180 °C) systems having multifunctional properties. The reference proton exchange membrane for fuel cell is Nafion®. In this case, the proton conduction occurs due to the presence of water, which explains membrane limited performance at temperatures above 90 °C. The scientific research program submitted to the consideration is based on high ionic conductivity of ILs with the idea of bringing in new features to improve the compatibility of IL with the polymer film. The synthesized ILs will be characterized by their thermal and chemical stability and their ionic conductivity at high temperatures (above 130 ° C). The main objective of the project is to stabilize IL in the polymer membrane at high temperatures while maintaining high ionic conductivity. The different ways of IL’s cross-linking and graft copolymerization will be studied. The polymer membranes with different morphologies will be elaborated and their chemical, permeability, thermal and electrochemical properties will be investigated in order to optimize the structure of the polymer matrix used as the mechanical support. The composite polymer/IL membranes will be evaluated according to their ionic conductivity, oxygen permeability, mechanical and thermal stability and their electrochemical properties.