Fuel Cell Membranes - I

Membranes have played increasingly important roles on fuel cells. For fuel cells, membranes are involved in fuel processing in addition to proton-exchange membranes and membrane electrode assembly. In fuel processing, CO2- and H2-selective membranes can be used both in membrane reactor configuration to enhance water gas shift reaction and in the membrane permeation to purify H2, as well as O2-selective membranes can be employed for O2-enriched air production to increase (1) the H2 concentration in the reformed gas from the autothermal reforming or partial oxidation/gasification of liquid fuel (e.g., gasoline, diesel and/or jet fuel), natural gas, biomass or coal and (2) the performance of fuel cell on the cathode side. Proton-exchange membranes and membrane electrode assembly, including cost-effective Nafion replacements particularly for 120 – 180oC, are critical to the widespread use of fuel cells. Original and review papers on membranes for fuel cell applications, including (1) fuel processing, (2) proton-exchange membranes, and (3) membrane electrode assembly, are sought. Both fundamental and application aspects are welcome. We will include the papers on fundamental understanding through theory, modeling, and controlled experiments as well as engineering, application and scale-up studies.