Organic/Zeolites Nanocomposite Membranes

Abstract

There are different types of fuel cells, but Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells are one of the most promising because they are low-temperature fuel cells. The solid polymer electrolyte has to present transport selectivity, besides the ion conductivity; thus in case of using in fuel cells, the membrane must let the hydrogen ions pass easily and block the passage of fuel (methanol or hydrogen) as well as oxidant molecules (oxygen) which have to be kept separated from each other. In addition to these properties, list other important properties that PEMs must show for high performance: low electronic conductivity, low water transport through diffusion and electro-osmosis, oxidative and hydrolytic stability, good mechanical stability in both dry and hydrated states, low cost, and capability for fabrication into membrane electrode assembly (MEA). This chapter is divided into seven sections. The first section presents some statistical data of publications concerning fuel cell, PEM fuel cells (PEMFC) and PEMFC with zeolites. The second section exhibits some concepts about zeolites types, structure, properties and industrials applications. The third section presents the role of the zeolite properties on the performance of the PEMFC. The fourth section describes the main technique used for producing zeolite/polymer nanocomposite membrane for PEMFCs. The two following sections outline the state of the art of using the zeolite for PEMFC applications, being the fifth and sixth sections dedicated to the synthetic and natural polymers, respectively.