ION-CONDUCTING MEMBRANE FOR FUEL CELL

• Main Authors: WNEK, GARY EDMUND, SHEIKH-ALI, BASHIR MUSSE
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 05.08.1999
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: AFTER-TREATMENT NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASSES C08B, C08C, C08F,C08G; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CHEMISTRY; CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION ORPROCESSING OF GOODS; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON; COMPOSITIONS OF MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; ELECTRICITY; GENERAL PROCESSES OF COMPOUNDING; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVINGCARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS; METALLURGY; ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSIONOF CHEMICAL INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; TREATMENT OR CHEMICAL MODIFICATION OF RUBBERS; WORKING-UP

Ion-conducting membranes for fuel cells are disclosed. The membrane is composed of a hydrogenated and sulfonated statistical copolymer of styrene a nd butadiene. A preferred membrane is obtained by hydrogenating a copolymer of styrene and butadiene to obtain less than five percent residual unsaturation , then sulfonating the polymer with an acetyl sulfate sulfonation agent to a level of at least 30 mo1 percent sulfonate.