Anion exchange membranes based on carbazole-containing polyolefin for direct methanol fuel cells

Predicting the anion conductivities and alkaline stabilities of anion conducting membrane polymeric materials: development of explainable machine learning models

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are core components in fuel cells and water electrolyzers, which are crucial to realize a sustainable hydrogen society. The low anion conductivity and durability of AEMs have hindered the commercialization of AEM-based devices, and research and development (R&D) to improve AEM materials is often resource-intensive. Although machine learning (ML) is commonly used in many fields to accelerate R&D while reducing resource consumption, it is rarely used in the AEM field. Three problems hinder the adoption of ML models, namely, the low explainability of ML models; complication with expressing both homopolymers and copolymers in unity to train a single ML model; and difficulty in building a single ML model that comprehends various polymer types. This study presents the first ML models that solve all three problems. Our models predicted the anion conductivity for a diverse set of unseen AEM materials with high accuracy (root mean squared error = 0.014 S cm-1), regardless of their state (freshly synthesized or degraded). This enables virtual pre-synthesis screening of novel AEM materials, reducing resource consumption. Moreover, human-comprehensible prediction logic revealed new factors affecting the anion conductivity of AEM materials. Such capability to reveal new important variables for AEM materials design could shift the paradigm of AEM R&D. This proposed method is not limited to AEM materials, instead it presents a technology that is applicable to the diverse set of polymers currently available.

Study of Polyaniline/Poly(Sodium 4-Styrenesulfonate) Composite Deposits Using an Electrochemical Quartz Crystal Microbalance for the Modification of a Commercial Anion Exchange Membrane

One of the intended applications for the modification of ion exchange membranes with polyaniline (PAni) is to use it as a matrix to include chemical species that confer a special property such as resistance to fouling or ion selectivity. In particular, the inclusion of polyelectrolyte molecules into the PAni matrix appears to be the way to modulate these properties of selective membranes. Therefore, it must be clearly understood how the polyelectrolyte is incorporated into the matrix of polyaniline. Among the results obtained in this paper using poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance, the amount of polyelectrolyte incorporated into PAni is found to be proportional to the PSS concentration in solution if its value is between 0 and 20 mM, while it reaches a maximum value when the PSS in solution is greater than 20 mM. When the anion exchange membranes are modified with these composite deposits, the transport number of chloride was found to decrease progressively (when the PSS concentration in solution is between 0 and 20 mM) to reach a practically constant value when a concentration of PSS greater than 20 mM was used.

Poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)s with Various Head Groups: Effect of Head Groups on the Properties of Anion Exchange Membranes

Poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)s (PPOs)-based anion exchange membranes (AEMs) with four of the most widely investigated head groups were prepared. Through a combination of experimental and simulation approaches, the effects of the different types of head groups on the properties of the AEMs, including hydroxide conductivity, water content, physicochemical stability, and fuel cell device performance were fully explored. Unlike other studies, in which the conductivity was mostly investigated in liquid water, the conductivity of the PPO-based AEMs in 95% relative humidity (RH) conditions as well as in liquid water was investigated. The conductivity trend in 95% RH condition was different from that in liquid water but corresponded well with the actual cell performance trend observed, suggesting that the AEM fuel cell performance under in situ cell conditions (95% RH, 60 °C, H₂/O₂) is more closely related to the conductivity measured ex situ under 95% RH conditions (60 °C) than in liquid water. On the basis of the conductivity data and molecular simulation results, it was concluded that the predominant hydroxide ion-conducting mechanism in liquid water differs from that in the operating fuel cell environment, where the ionomers become hydrated only as a result of water vapor transported into the cells.

Comparison with adsorption of Re (VII) by two different γ-radiation synthesized silica-grafting of vinylimidazole/4-vinylpyridine adsorbents

Two silica gel based adsorbents for Re (VII), i.e. SS-MPTS-VIMH and SS-MPTS-VPQ, were synthesised. Silica gel was used as the matrix for γ-radiation grafting, and the monomer of 1-vinyl imidazole (VIM) and 4-vinylpyridine (4-VP) was grafted onto the silica silanized by methacryloxy propyl trimethoxyl silane, respectively. A VIM concentration of 2molL^-1 and an absorbed dose of 30kGy were the optimal grafting conditions for adsorbent SS-MPTS-VIM, and a 4-VP concentration of 4molL^-1 and an absorbed dose of 40kGy were the optimal grafting conditions for adsorbent SS-MPTS-VP. At the certain condition, the grafting yield of SS-MPTS-VIM was 30.1% and that of SS-MPTS-VP was 21.0%. The adsorption capacity of adsorbent SS-MPTS-VIMH was 145.99mgg^-1 and that of SS-MPTS-VPQ was 71.08mgg^-1 according to the Langmuir model. The adsorbent SS-MPTS-VPQ had better adsorption properties of acid resistance and anti-interference than SS-MPTS-VIMH. Dynamic column experiments showed that protonated adsorbent SS-MTPS-VIMH could be recycled with good performance while quaternized adsorbent SS-MPTS-VPQ could not. The adsorbent SS-MPTS-VIMH belongs to weak anion exchange adsorbent and SS-MPTS-VPQ belongs to strong anion exchange adsorbent. This study paves a way to the synthesis and application of a novel silica base adsorbents for Re (VII).

Imidazolium-functionalized anion exchange membranes using poly(ether sulfone)s as macrocrosslinkers for fuel cells

The incompatibility of the hydrophilic imidazolium cations from the functionalized poly(vinyl imidazole) with the long hydrophobic poly(ether sulfone) chain promoted the phase separation. The PES/PVIIL-0.4 membrane displayed good single cell performance.

Comb-shaped phenolphthalein-based poly(ether sulfone)s as anion exchange membranes for alkaline fuel cells

A series of novel comb-shaped phenolphthalein-based poly(ether sulfone)s was synthesized for preparing anion exchange membranes (AEMs).