Abstract
Abstract Fuel cells offer a promising solution for clean energy conversion, with anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) being particularly attractive for their potential to use less expensive, non-platinum group metal (non-PGM) catalysts. Despite significant progress in AEMFCs in recent years, their performance is limited by instability often resulting from water imbalance within the cell (e.g, anode flooding, cathode dry-out). Implementing asymmetric electrode anion exchange ionomers (AEIs), i.e., using a hydrophobic AEI at the anode to inhibit swelling and a hydrophilic AEI at the cathode to prevent water depletion, could overcome issues of poor water management. In this study, block copolymer (BCP) AEIs of polydiallyldimethylammonium hydroxide-block-polystyrene (PDADMAOH-b-PS) were synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization, achieving ion exchange capacities of 1.03 to 3.40 mmol/g. These BCP AEIs were employed in the AEMFCs to optimize water distribution by controlling the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of the gas diffusion layers. Our results demonstrated lower ohmic losses and mass transport limitations in the asymmetric electrode design versus the symmetric analog.
Published Version
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