This technology is an anion exchange membrane for fuel cells, formed as a thin film using poly(phenylene oxide) polymer with conductive functional groups, such as piperidinium and morpholinium, introduced into the side chains. It is manufactured by brominating the polymer with N-bromosuccinimide and then reacting it with functional group compounds.
While anion exchange membrane alkaline fuel cells offer the advantage of operating without precious metal catalysts, existing polymer membranes have struggled with low stability at high pH and low hydroxide ion mobility, making it difficult to achieve sufficient conductivity. Increasing the ion exchange capacity often leads to excessive water absorption, causing the membrane to swell and lose mechanical properties, while compensating for this through cross-linking typically results in reduced ion conductivity.
This technology enhances interactions between side-chain functional groups and hydroxide ions, controlling the ion exchange capacity to the 1.8–2.0 meq/g range and ensuring excellent ion conductivity at both low and high temperatures. With minimal dimensional change under both low and high humidity conditions and high mechanical stability, it can be applied to alkaline fuel cell stacks and membrane electrode assemblies, accelerating the commercialization of low-cost fuel cells that reduce reliance on precious metal catalysts.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning for the development of high-performance anion exchange membrane source materials through molecular structure control.
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