An effective strategy for the preparation of a wide-temperature-range proton exchange membrane based on polybenzimidazoles and polyacrylamide hydrogels

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 9; no. 6; pp. 365 - 3615
• Main Authors: Yin, Bibo, Wu, Yingnan, Liu, Chunfa, Wang, Peng, Wang, Lei, Sun, Guoxing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 16.02.2021
• Subjects: Electric vehicles; Fuel cells; Fuel technology; High temperature; Hydrogels; Low temperature; Maximum power; Membranes; Phosphoric acid; Polyacrylamide; Polybenzimidazoles; Proton exchange membrane fuel cells; Protons; Temperature; Water absorption
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/d0ta08872b

Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) with high performances over a wide temperature range from 80-180 °C have gained much attention related to the development of fuel cell vehicles. Designing membranes operating within a wide temperature range, especially covering the low temperature and high temperature ranges, is highly meaningful because of their potential for practical application. Phosphoric acid (PA)-doped polybenzimidazoles (PBIs) show great potential for use as high-temperature proton exchange membranes. However, a poor fuel cell performance at low temperatures (<100 °C) limits their application. In this work, different contents of three-dimensional network polyacrylamide hydrogels were introduced into OPBI (OPBI-AM) membranes via a unique design to simultaneously absorb phosphoric acid and water. Due to their strong phosphoric acid and water absorption abilities, the OPBI-AM membranes were highly conductive over a wide temperature range (40-180 °C) compared to the original OPBI membrane. The single-cell performance of OPBI-0.8AM achieved maximum power densities of 200 and 565 mW cm −2 at 80 °C and 160 °C, respectively, under anhydrous conditions. Besides, the low temperature cell cycles of OPBI-0.8AM membrane exhibited stability in a week. The performance of this new PEM extends beyond the limits of existing HT-PEMFCs materials via innovative design compared to the current OPBI-based PEMFC systems. OPBI-0.8AM membrane can operate from 80-160 °C which break through the limits of existing HT-PEMFCs materials.