ETFE-based anion-exchange membrane ionomer powders for alkaline membrane fuel cells: a first performance comparison of head-group chemistry

Abstract

In the last few years, the development of radiation-grafted powder-form anion-exchange ionomers (AEI), used in combination with anion-exchange membranes (AEM), has led to the assembly of AEM-based fuel cells (AEMFC) that routinely yield power densities ranging between 1–2 W cm⁻² (with a variety of catalysts). However, to date, only benzyltrimethylammonium-type powder AEIs have been evaluated in AEMFCs. This study presents an initial evaluation of the relative AEMFC power outputs when using a combination of ETFE-based radiation-grafted AEMs and AEIs containing three different head-group chemistries: benzyltrimethylammonium (TMA), benzyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium (MPY), and benzyl-N-methylpiperidinium (MPRD). The results from this study strongly suggest that future research should focus on the development and operando long-term durability testing of AEMs and AEIs containing the MPRD head-group chemistry.