(488b) Ion Pair Polymer Membranes for High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

High-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) offer significant advantages over PEMFCs operating below 100 °C including the lack of need for humidifiers and smaller radiator sizes due to simplified thermal management, potentially providing a solution to vastly reduce the cost of fuel cells and their application to automobiles. Polymer electrolytes based on phosphoric acid-doped polybenzimidazole have given decent fuel cell performance, but suffer from stability issues stemming from the leaching of the liquid phosphoric acid carrier electrolyte at either lower temperatures or when exposed to water. In this presentation, I will discuss quaternary ammonium-biphosphate ion pair membranes that have superior acid retention to the conventional phosphoric acid doped polybenzimidazole membranes. I will discuss how to design ion-pair membranes for HT-PEMFC applications. In addition, electrode binder materials that have a synergistic impact with the ion-pair membranes will be introduced. Finally, the outlook of this system for heavy-duty vehicle fuel cell applications will be presented.