Development of high-performance polymer electrolyte membranes for direct methanol fuel cells

Direct oxidation fuel cells based on polymer electrolyte membranes have long been viewed as a method of power generation. The development of a methanol based-liquid feed system has further reduced system complexity and offered promising electrical performance at low temperatures utilizing ambient pressure air as the oxidant. USC and JPL in a collaborative approach sponsored by DARPA have pursued the development of novel polymer electrolyte membranes consisting of a semi-sequential interpenetrating polymer network of polyvinyldifluoride (PVDF) and polystyrene-sulfonic acid (PSSA) to be used in Direct Methanol Fuel Cells. A suitable precursor material has been identified and polymerization conditions optimized resulting in the preparation of polymer electrolyte membranes with preferred surface morphology and favorable fuel cell-related characteristics. Reduced methanol crossover and promising electrical performance, comparable to state-of-art materials characterize the polymer electrolyte membranes and translate into favorable fuel cell efficiency values. This research was initiated in order to identify an alternative polymer electrolyte membrane capable of superior electrical performance and low methanol crossover in an attempt to construct an efficient, lightweight 150 W portable power system.