Proton selective membrane for solid polymer fuel cells

• US 8,835,078 B2
• Filed: 02/11/2010
• Issued: 09/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yanxiu Zhou
• Original Assignee: Yanxiu Zhou
• Inventors: Zhou, Yanxiu
• Primary Examiner(s): RHEE, JANE J
• Application Number:
  US12/704,392
• Publication Number:
  US 20100203422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,678 Days
• Field of Search: 429/492, 429/483, 429/491
• US Class Current: 429/491
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 2333/02 Homopolymers or copolymers of acids; Metal or ammonium salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 2333/26 Homopolymers or copolymers of acrylamide or methacrylamide
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 2339/08 Homopolymers or copolymers of vinyl-pyridine
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 5/2237 containing fluorine
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/1023 having only carbon, e.g. polyarylenes, polystyrenes or polybutadiene-styrenes
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/1072 by chemical reactions, e.g. insitu polymerisation or insitu crosslinking
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/1076 Micromachining techniques, e.g. masking, etching steps or photolithography
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

A proton selective membrane for solid polymer electrolyte fuel cells that is produced by providing one or more template molecules, providing one or more functional monomers to interact with the template molecules, providing a cross-linking agent(s) to covalently bond polymer chains created with the template molecules and functional monomers by polymerization, providing an initiating agent to start a chemical reaction which results in an imprinted polymer, and removing the template molecules from the imprinted polymer to create a proton selective membrane.

Claims

1. A proton selective membrane for functioning as an electrolyte in a solid polymer electrolyte fuel cell that is produced by providing one or more proton conducting template molecules selected from the group consisting of phosphoric acid, phosphonic acid, and phosphinic acid, providing one or more functional monomers selected from the group consisting of 4-vinylpyridine, acrylic acid, and acrylamide to interact with the proton conducting template molecules, and providing at least one cross-linking agent to covalently bond polymer chains created with the proton conducting template molecules and the functional monomers by polymerization to create an imprinted polymer which possesses ionic conductivities that are independent of water thereby enabling its use at high temperatures and which employs protonic channels to transfer protons through the imprinted polymer.

2. The proton selective membrane of claim 1 wherein an initiating agent is provided to start a chemical reaction which results in the imprinted polymer.

3. The proton selective membrane of claim 1 wherein the proton conducting template molecules are removed from the imprinted polymer.

4. The proton selective membrane of claim 1 wherein the crosslinking agent is selected from the group consisting of ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), trimethylol-propane trimethacrylate (TRIM), acrylamide and divinylbenzene (DVB).

5. The proton selective membrane of claim 2 wherein the initiating agent is selected from the group consisting of 2,2-azobis-(2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN), dibenzoyl peroxide (BPO), Irgacure 1800, 1,4-divinylbenzene (DVB), 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone (DPP) and 2,2′

-azobis(2,4-dimethyl-valeronitrile) (ADVN).