21 Dec Plasma-polymerized phosphonic acid-based membranes for fuel cell Back to Sci. Publications

ABSTRACT

In the highly competitive market of fuel cells, proton exchange membrane fuel cells operating in the range of 80–150 °C seem quite promising. One of the main hurdles for the emergence of such a technology is the development of phosphonic acid-based membranes characterized by high conductivity and stability beyond 80 °C. In this work, plasma polymers containing phosphonic acid groups have been successfully prepared using dimethyl allylphosphonate as a single precursor. Structural and transport properties of plasma polymers are logically correlated with the plasma discharge power. Under optimized plasma conditions, plasma films are thermally stable up to 150 °C and present the highest growth rate, concentration of ion exchange groups and proton conductivity, which make them competitive as membranes for fuel cells.

KEYWORDS

Conductivity, Fuel cell, Membrane, Phosphonic acid, Plasma polymerization

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