Nonhumidified Fuel Cells Using N-Ethyl-N-methyl-pyrrolidinium Fluorohydrogenate Ionic Liquid-poly(Vinylidene Fluoride-Hexafluoropropylene) Composite Membranes

Abstract

Composite membranes consisting of N-ethyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium fluoro-hydrogenate (EMPyr(FH)[1.7]F) ionic liquid and poly(vinylidene fluoride hexafluoro-propylene) (PVdF-HFP) copolymer were successfully prepared in weight ratios of 5:5, 6:4, and 7:3 using a casting method. The prepared membranes possessed rough surfaces, which potentially enlarged the three-phase boundary area. The EMPyr(FH)[1.7]F/PVdF-HFP (7:3 weight ratio) composite membrane had an ionic conductivity of 41 mS·cm[-1] at 120 °C. For a single cell using this membrane, a maximum power density of 103 mW·cm[-2] was observed at 50 °C under non-humidified conditions; this is the highest power output that has ever been reported for fluorohydrogenate fuel cells. However, the cell performance decreased at 80 °C, which was explained by penetration of the softened composite membrane into gas diffusion electrodes to partially plug gas channels in the gas diffusion layers; this was verified by in situ a.c. impedance analysis and cross-sectional SEM images of the membrane electrode assembly.