Dynamic conducting effect of WO3/PFSA membranes on the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Abstract The homogenous proton conducting WO3/PFSA membranes are prepared based on a dynamic conducting concept, that is, the resistance of the membrane can be reduced during the fuel cell operation due to the formation of the conducting hydrogen tungsten bronzes. The novel membranes are characterized by different techniques. The results proved that the resistances of the WO3-containing membranes in single fuel cells measured by in situ AC impedance spectroscopy during the operation are significantly lower than that of the single fuel cell using Nafion® 112 membrane. It is revealed that the performances of the single fuel cells with WO3/PFSA membranes are superior to that of the single cell with Nafion® 112 membrane.

[1]  David E. Williams,et al.  Meso‐SiO2–C12EO10OH–CF3SO3H—A Novel Proton‐Conducting Solid Electrolyte , 2003 .

[2]  Jiujun Zhang,et al.  Discrepancies in the Measurement of Ionic Conductivity of PEMs Using Two- and Four-Probe AC Impedance Spectroscopy , 2006 .

[3]  P. Shen,et al.  Electrochromics of single crystalline WO3 · H2O nanorods , 2006 .

[4]  E. Gonzalez,et al.  Effect of membrane characteristics and humidification conditions on the impedance response of polymer electrolyte fuel cells , 2001 .

[5]  Suzhen Ren,et al.  Casting Nafion-sulfonated organosilica nano-composite membranes used in direct methanol fuel cells , 2006 .

[6]  P. Shen,et al.  Precious metal/hydrogen bronze anode catalysts for the oxidation of small organic molecules and impure hydrogen , 1996 .

[7]  A. Tseung,et al.  High Performance, Platinum Activated Tungsten Oxide Fuel Cell Electrodes , 1969, Nature.

[8]  Robert C T Slade,et al.  Steady-state dc and impedance investigations of H2/O2 alkaline membrane fuel cells with commercial Pt/C, Ag/C, and Au/C cathodes. , 2006, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[9]  L. Archer,et al.  A liquid derivative of 12-tungstophosphoric acid with unusually high conductivity. , 2004, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[10]  A. Tseung,et al.  The Anodic Oxidation of Hydrogen on Platinized Tungsten Oxides II . Mechanism of H2 Oxidation on Platinized Electrodes , 1973 .

[11]  C. Gardner,et al.  Studies on ion-exchange membranes. II. Measurement of the anisotropic conductance of Nafion® , 1998 .

[12]  James M. Fenton,et al.  Composite silica/Nafion® membranes prepared by tetraethylorthosilicate sol-gel reaction and solution casting for direct methanol fuel cells , 2006 .

[13]  Tao Zhang,et al.  Function and Characterization of Metal Oxide−Nafion Composite Membranes for Elevated-Temperature H2/O2 PEM Fuel Cells , 2006 .

[14]  Rae Duk Lee,et al.  Importance of Proton Conductivity Measurement in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane for Fuel Cell Application , 2005 .

[15]  L. Klein,et al.  Characterization of SiO2-P2O5-ZrO2 Sol-Gel/NAFION™ Composite Membranes , 2003 .

[16]  H. Ha,et al.  Nano-silica layered composite membranes prepared by PECVD for direct methanol fuel cells , 2004 .

[17]  Philippe Belleville,et al.  Hierarchically structured transparent hybrid membranes by in situ growth of mesostructured organosilica in host polymer , 2006, Nature materials.

[18]  D. Peck,et al.  Performance evaluation of a Nafion/silicon oxide hybrid membrane for direct methanol fuel cell , 2002 .

[19]  Kiyoshi Kanamura,et al.  Preparation of composite membrane between a uniform porous silica matrix and injected proton conductive gel polymer , 2005 .

[20]  P. Shen,et al.  Anodic Oxidation of Methanol on Pt / WO 3 in Acidic Media , 1994 .

[21]  P. Shen,et al.  Homogeneous synthesis of PFSI/silica composite membranes for PEMFC operating at low humidity , 2007 .

[22]  M. Boudart,et al.  The kinetics and mechanism of spillover , 1974 .