Objective
As stated in project JOU2-CT92-0054, Direct-Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) oxidizes methanol directly into hydrogen to produce electricity. The main R&D objective is to achieve a high current density (0.5 mA/cm2 at 0.6V) to achieve low cost. A major bottleneck is the resistivity of the solid electrolyte.
In this project, basic materials research will be carried-out to identify suitable electrolyte material with a high ion-conductivity. This should lead to electrolyte membranes with a low methanol diffusion and a conductivity higher than 0.15/cm. This membrane should be physically and chemically stable up to 150(C.
Five materials with conductivity higher than 10{-2} S.cm{-1} were selected in this programme for further optimisation in term of synthesis and electrical properties. The protonic conductors are divided in 2 groups: inorganic and organic.
Within the inorganic type,
The parent laponite material (clay) was modified and ion exchange laponite and composite laponites were obtained with conductivity in a range 0.5-1.1{-2} S.cm{-1}. Enhancement of the conductivity was obtained when ion exchange laponite was bonded to H3PO4 (2.10{-2} S.cm{-1}). Pillared materials of the metal (Zr, Sn) phosphate were modified using different routes. The most promising method consists of forming a nanocomposite material by insertion of a highly hydrated ion in the basic material. Conductivity of 3.10{-2} S.cm{-1} was obtained. Details investigations of the synthesis was made in order to control conductivity.
Tin-mordenite (modified zeolite) was prepared with conductivity of 10{-2} S.cm{-1} and above in a temperature range 100-150 C. Optimisation of the material performances has been shown to be dependant on a number of structural parameters.
Within the organic protonic conductors,
Ormolyte material (PBSS) was prepared under powder form showing chemical stability and conductivity similar to Nafion and in a self supporting membrane which conductivity is not yet optimised.
An organic membrane was prepared via UV radiation curing. Components such as acid groups, backbone oligomers and crosslinking agents were investigated and their influences on thermal stability and conductivity were observed.
Protonic conducting electrolyte membranes were prepared based on protonic conductors and organic binder. Polymers (polysulfone, polyvinylidene fluoride, EPDM) were selected with respect to chemical and thermal stability. Membranes were prepared by solvent casting. The main activity was concentrated on the optimisation of membrane conductivity in terms of proton conductor content, polymer type, and hydrophilisation of the organic binder. Such modification results in an improved conductivity of 10{-3} S.cm{-1} (100 C), 1 order of magnitude lower compared to the pure material. Similar conductivities were obtained for all inorganic proton conductor/membrane system. Membrane showed low solvent uptake compared to conventional electrolyte/material and methanol selectivity was obtained for the tin-mordernite system.
The most promising membrane in terms of conductivity was based on Ormolyte (PBSS)/PVDF showing conductivity of 6.10{-3} S.cm{-1} and membrane resistance of 2 ohms.cm{2}.
In previous work (JOUE-CT90-0026), various proton conductors were developed with conductivity up to 5.10-2S.cm-l at 120(C. Conductivity up to 10-3S.cm-1 was achieved for electrolyte membranes made of proton conductor and organic binder. High selectivity towards methanol and water was obtained for the new membranes.
This project will include activities on material characterization, modification and optimization and on electrolyte membranes construction and test.
Solid proton conductors which have been selected as the most promising in the previous CEC contract (JOUE-CT90-0026) will be characterized, modified and optimized in terms of conductivity, chemical stability, redox and thermal stability.
Protonic conducting materials include tin-laponite (Exeter), ion-inserted layered phosphates (Zr/SnP) (Montpellier), ormolytes (Grenoble), tin-mordenite (Odense), and acrylo propane sulphonic acid (Innovision). Material Conductivity is expected to be between l-5.10-2S. cm-1. Proton conductors developed at different partner's laboratories will be used for membrane construction (Innovision). Membranes will be based on proton conductor and binder of the acrylate urethane type. They will be prepared by screen-printing or extrusion, followed by radiation curing. Membrane composition will be optimized in order to obtain membrane resistance lower than 2 ohms.cm2 .
Membranes will be tested with respect to chemical, redox, and thermal stability as well as mechanical properties and methanol diffusion.
Electrode technology will be developed and electrode-electrolyte assemblies will be investigated and tested in term of material compatibility and electrochemical characteristics. Electrode activities will be conducted in a close collaboration with other JOULE projects on DMFC electrode development (JOU2-CT92-0054 and JOU2-CT92-0239).
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry alcohols
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry aliphatic compounds
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels fuel cells
- engineering and technology materials engineering nanocomposites
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Coordinator
5260 Odense S
Denmark
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