This presentation will describe the latest research at the University of Surrey and the development of radiation-grafted anion-exchange membranes (RG-AEM) and ionomer powders (AEI) for use in devices such as alkali membrane fuel cells.

The presentation will provide an overview of the following recent achievements:

• Synthesis of RG-AEMs with heterocyclic chemistries that are more stable to alkali that the those containing the benzyltrimethylammonium benchmark;
• Synthesis protocols that require reduced radiation doses, reduced amounts of monomer and the use of water rather than organic solvents;
• Synthesis of thinner RG-AEMs;
• The ability to produce RG-AEMs based on low density polyethylene (LDPE) rather than partially fluorinated ETFE;
• Synthesis of an interesting class of solid-state AEI powders;
• AEMs with high hydroxide conductivities and high performances in H₂/O₂ fuel cells.

For example, the graph show the beginning-of-life 60°C H₂/O₂ fuel cell performances achieved with Pt-based catalysts and RG-AEMs made from 25 μm ETFE (red) and 13 μm ETFE (green) with no gas back-pressurization applied.

References:

Ponce-Gonzalez et al., Energy Environ. Sci., 2016, 9, 3724-3735

Wang et al., Green Chem., 2016, Advanced Article DOI: 10.1039/C6GC02526A.