• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.181-186
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• 2016

Recently, there are many efforts focused on development of more economical non-fluorinated membranes for use in PEMFCs (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells). In this study, characteristics of sulfonated Poly(ether ether ketone) (sPEEK) were compared according to degrees of sulfonation (DS), relative humidity, cell temperatures at PEMFC operation condition. I-V polarization curve, hydrogen crossover, electrochemical surface area, membrane resistance and charge transfer resistance were measured. sPEEK membrane showed high performance at high DS, high temperature and high relative humidity, in particular, performance of sPEEK membrane decreased largely due to low ionic conductivity at low DS and low relative humidity.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2012

The composite membranes using Nafion as matrix and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetracyanoborate (EMITCB) as ion-conducting medium in replacement of water were prepared and characterized. The amount of EMITCB in Nafion varied from 30 to 50wt%. The composite membranes are characterized by ion conductivity, thermogravitational analyses (TGA) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The composite membranes containing EMITCB of 40wt% showed the maximum ionic conductivity which was ~0.0146 S $cm^{-1}$ at 423.15 K. It is inferred that the decrease in ionic conductivity of all the composite membranes might be due to the decomposition of a tetracyanoboric acid formed in the composite membranes. The results of SAXS indicated that the ionic clusters to conduct proton in the composite membranes were successfully formed. In accordance with the results of ionic conductivity as a function of a reciprocal temperature, SAXS showed a proportional decrease in scattering maximum $q_{max}$ as the amount of EMITCB increases in the composite membranes, which results in the increase in ionomer cluster size. The TGA showed no significant decomposition of the ionic liquid as well as the composite membranes in the range of operating temperature ($120-150^{\circ}C$) of high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HTPEMFC). As a result, EMITCB is able to play an important role in transferring proton in the composite membranes at elevated temperatures with no external humidification for proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.3440-3445
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• 2007

For proton exchange membrane fuel cell, it is very important to design the flow channel on separation plate optimally to maximize the current density at same electrochemical reaction surface and reduce the concentration polarization occurred at high current density. In this paper, three dimensional computation model including anode and cathode domain together was developed to examine effects of flow patterns and operation conditions such as humidity and operating temperature on performance of fuel cell. Results show that voltage at counter flow condition is higher than that at coflow condition in parallel and interdigitated flow pattern. And fuel cell with interdigitated flow pattern which has better mass transport by convection flow through gas diffusion layer has higher performance than with parallel flow pattern but its pressure drop is increased such that the trade off between performance and pressure drop should be considered for selection of flow pattern of fuel cell.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.287-295
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• 2004

A performance simulator for the fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle (FCHEV) is developed to evaluate the potentials of hybridization for fuel cell electric vehicle. Dynamic models of FCHEV's electric powertrain components such as fuel cell stack, battery, traction motor, DC/DC converter, etc. are obtained by modular approach using MATLAB SIMULINK. In addition, a thermodynamic model of the fuel cell is introduced using bondgraph to investigate the temperature effect on the vehicle performance. It is found from the simulation results that the hybridization of fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) provides better hydrogen fuel economy especially in the city driving owing to the braking energy recuperation and relatively high efficiency operation of the fuel cell. It is also found from the thermodynamic simulation of the FCEV that the fuel economy and acceleration performance are affected by the temperature due to the relatively low efficiency and reduced output power of the fuel cell stack at low temperature.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2011

Composite membranes based on sulfonated poly(aryl ether) sulfone (SPAES) with different sulfated zirconia nanoparticles ($s-ZrO_2$) ratio are synthesized and investigated for the improvement of the hydration and the proton conductivity at high temperature and no humidification for fuel cell applications. X-ray diffraction technique is employed to characterize the structure and the size of $s-ZrO_2$ nanoparticles. The sulfation effect of $s-ZrO_2$ nanoparticles is verified by FT-IR analysis. The properties of the SPAES composite membranes with the various $s-ZrO_2$ ratio are evaluated by ion exchange capacity and water content. The proton conductivities of the composite membranes are estimated at room temperature with full hydration and at the various high temperature without external humidification. The composite membrane with 5 wt% $s-ZrO_2$ shows the highest proton conductivity. The proton conductivities are $0.9292\;S\;cm^{-1}$ at room temperature with full hydration and $0.0018\;S\;cm^{-1}$ at $120^{\circ}C$ without external humidification, respectively.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.85.2-85.2
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• 2010

There is widespread effort to develop polymer membranes in place of Nafion for high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell(PEMFC). In our study, SiO2 membranes are arranged by electrospinning method. For impregnation solution, the modified sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)(SPEEK) polymer is prepared from sulfonation, sulfochlorination, partial reduction and lithiation reaction. The modified polymer is cross-linked with 1,4-diiodobetane in NMP solvent and then blended with Heteropoly acid(HPA). The characterization of membranes is confimed by FT-IR, Thermogravimetry(TGA), water uptake test and single cell performance test for PEMFC, etc. The composite membrane shows satisfactory thermal and mechanical properties. Beside, The membrane exhibits good ion exchange capacity and high proton conductivity. As a result, The composite membrane is promising as an alternative membrane in high temperature PEMFC.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.438-442
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• 2006

Novel sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketones) containing benzoxazole were directly synthesized by aromatic nucleophilic polycondensation using various ratios of 2,2'-bi[2-( 4-flurophenyl)benzoxazol-6-yl]hexafluoropropane to sodium 5,5'-carbonylbis(2-fluorobenzenesulfonate). The copolymers were soluble in polar aprotic solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N,N-dimethylacetamide, and N,N-dimethylformamide at a relatively high solid composition (>15 wt%) and formed tough, flexible and transparent membranes. The membranes exhibited a degradation temperature of above $290^{\circ}C$. The exact dissolution times of these membranes at $80^{\circ}C$ in Fenton's reagent (3 wt% $H_2O_2$ containing 2 ppm $FeSO_4$) were undetectable, confirming their excellent chemical stability in fuel cell application. The membranes showed a moderate increase in water uptake with respect to increasing temperature. The proton conductivities of the membranes were dependent on the composition and ranged from $1.10{\times}10^{-2}$ to $5.50{\times}10^{-2}Scm^{-1}$ at $80^{\circ}C$ and 95% relative humidity (RH). At $120^{\circ}C$ without externally humidified conditions, the conductivities increased above $10^{-2}Scm^{-1}$ with respect to increasing benzoxazole content, which suggested that the benzoxazole moieties contributed to the proton conduction.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.283-289
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• 2010

A two-dimensional isothermal model has been employed for numerical simulations of a high temperature hydrogen fuel cell with proton exchange membrane. The model is validated with existing experimental data and used for examination on the effects of various operating conditions on the fuel cell performance. The present numerical results show that the cell performance increases with increasing exchange current density, ion conductivity of the membrane, inlet gas flow rate as well as operating pressure. Also, higher porosity of gas diffusion layer (GDL) results in higher cell performance due to enhancement of the diffusion through the GDL, where the cathode GDL porosity more influences on the performance as compared with the anode one.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.98.2-98.2
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• 2011

For optimal performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) requires hydration, and the membrane's conductivity depends on water content. A humidifier is required to ensure that the reactant gas, usually hydrogen and air, is hydrated before entering the fuel cell. Dry membrane operation or improper hydration causes performance degradation. Typically, the humidification of a fuel cell is carried out by means of an internal or external humidifier. A membrane humidifier is applied to the external humidification of transportation or residential power generation fuel cell due to its convenience and high performance. In this study, The experiments were constructed with a plate-type membrane humidifier in terms of geometric parameters and operating parameters. The results show that the temperature and pressure, the channel length, the membrane thickness and gas flow rate are critical parameters affecting the performance of the humidifier.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2011

The composite membranes comprising of sulfonated polymers as matrix and ionic liquids as ion-conducting medium in replacement of water are studied to investigate the effect of annealing of the sulfonated polymers. The polymeric membranes are prepared on recast Nafion containing the ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ($EMIBF_4$). The composite membranes are characterized by thermogravitational analyses, ion conductivity and small-angle X-ray scattering. The composite membranes annealed at $190^{\circ}C$ for 2 h after the fixed drying step showed better ionic conductivity, but no significant increase in thermal stability. The mean Bragg distance between the ionic clusters, which is reflected in the position of the ionomer peak (small-angle scattering maximum), is larger in the annealed composite membranes containing $EMIBF_4$ than the non-annealed ones. It might have been explained to be due to the different level of ion-clustering ability of the hydrophilic parts (i.e., sulfonic acid groups) in the non- and annealed polymer matrix. In addition, the ionic conductivity of the membranes shows higher for the annealed composite membranes containing $EMIBF_4$. It can be concluded that the annealing of the composite membranes containing ionic liquids due to an increase in ion-clustering ability is able to bring about the enhancement of ionic conductivity suitable for potential use in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) at medium temperatures ($150-200^{\circ}C$) in the absence of external humidification.