Materials selection for choosing the best composite blend polymeric membrane for hydrogen/oxygen proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Abstract

Aromatic sulfonated polymers as a suitable candidate for Nafion membrane in proton exchange membrane fuel cells are the subject of many research activities. It has proved that these polymers need higher ion exchange capacities to reach the same proton conductivities compared to the Nafion membrane, which is a result of their different microstructures. Accordingly, to compensate different microstructures in the Nafion and sulfonated aromatic substitutions, several composite blend membranes of poly(ether sulfone) (PES) and poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK), including electrospun fibers of highly-sulfonated/non-sulfonated PEEK and PES polymers have prepared. For comparison, two membranes with a routine solution-casting technique also have been made. The membrane-electrode assemblies are tested in H2/O2 single-cell. Before that, characterization measurements have performed for all membranes. To select the best sample between prepared membranes, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) have used, and to achieve more reliable results, four techniques of Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE), COmplex PRoportional ASsessment of alternatives (COPRAS), and VIekriterijumsko KOmpromisno Rangiranje (VIKOR) have applied. According to the experiments and MCDM methods, composite blend membrane containing sulfonated electrospun fibers of PEEK in non-sulfonated PES matrix gains the best rank among all membranes.