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Clemens AL, Jayathilake BS, Karnes JJ, Schwartz JJ, Baker SE, Duoss EB, Oakdale JS. Tuning Alkaline Anion Exchange Membranes through Crosslinking: A Review of Synthetic Strategies and Property Relationships. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:polym15061534. [PMID: 36987313 PMCID: PMC10051716 DOI: 10.3390/polym15061534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Alkaline anion exchange membranes (AAEMs) are an enabling component for next-generation electrochemical devices, including alkaline fuel cells, water and CO2 electrolyzers, and flow batteries. While commercial systems, notably fuel cells, have traditionally relied on proton-exchange membranes, hydroxide-ion conducting AAEMs hold promise as a method to reduce cost-per-device by enabling the use of non-platinum group electrodes and cell components. AAEMs have undergone significant material development over the past two decades; however, challenges remain in the areas of durability, water management, high temperature performance, and selectivity. In this review, we survey crosslinking as a tool capable of tuning AAEM properties. While crosslinking implementations vary, they generally result in reduced water uptake and increased transport selectivity and alkaline stability. We survey synthetic methodologies for incorporating crosslinks during AAEM fabrication and highlight necessary precautions for each approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Auston L. Clemens
- Materials Engineering Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- Correspondence: (A.L.C.); (J.S.O.)
| | | | - John J. Karnes
- Materials Engineering Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - Johanna J. Schwartz
- Materials Engineering Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - Sarah E. Baker
- Materials Science Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - Eric B. Duoss
- Materials Engineering Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
| | - James S. Oakdale
- Materials Science Division, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
- Correspondence: (A.L.C.); (J.S.O.)
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Chen Y, Zhao J, Jin C, Ke Y, Li D, Wang Z. Effect of Clamping Compression on the Mechanical Performance of a Carbon Paper Gas Diffusion Layer in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells. MEMBRANES 2022; 12:membranes12070645. [PMID: 35877849 PMCID: PMC9323112 DOI: 10.3390/membranes12070645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
During all the assembly stages of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack, gas diffusion layers (GDLs) endure clamping loads in the through-plane direction several times. Under such complicated assembly conditions, GDLs have to deform with the changes in structure, surface roughness, pore size, etc. A comprehensive understanding of the compressive performance of GDLs at different clamping phases is crucial to the assembly process improvement of PEMFCs. Two typical clamping compression was designed and performed to get close to the actual assembly conditions of PEMFCs. The results indicate that the initial clamping compression and the magnitude of the maximum clamping load have great impacts on the segmented compressive properties of GDLs. The nonlinear compressive performance of the GDL is mainly attributed to the unique microstructural information. The rough surface morphology contributes to the initial compressive characteristics where the big strain along with the small stress occurs, and the irreversible failures such as carbon fiber breakages and adhesive failures between fibers and binders account for the hysteresis between different compression stages. Importantly, it is found that the clamping compression hardly influences the small pore distribution below 175 μm but affects the large pore distribution over 200 μm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanqin Chen
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; (Y.C.); (D.L.)
| | - Jinghui Zhao
- School of Automotive Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China;
| | - Cuihong Jin
- New Energy R&D Center, Weichai Power Co., Ltd., Weifang 261061, China;
| | - Yuchao Ke
- Key Laboratory of High-Performance Rubber & Products of Anhui Province, Ningguo 242300, China;
| | - Decai Li
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; (Y.C.); (D.L.)
| | - Zixi Wang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; (Y.C.); (D.L.)
- Correspondence:
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