Abstract
This chapter presents studies of sol-gel modifications of perfluorinated and hydrocarbon H2 fuel cell membranes using metal alkoxides, organoalkoxysilanes and combinations of these monomers. The impacts of these modifications on proton conductivity at high temperature and low relative humidity, fuel cell performance, chemical and mechanical durability and H2 and O2 crossover are discussed. Methods of tailoring the energetic environment, or polarity, within the polar cluster domains by insertion of inorganic oxide or organically modified silicate nanostructures by different chemistry routes are presented.
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The authors acknowledge the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, contract # DE-FG36-08GO88106 for financial support.
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Mauritz, K.A., Nalawade, A., Hassan, M.K. (2012). Proton Exchange Membranes for H2 Fuel Cell Applications. In: Aparicio, M., Jitianu, A., Klein, L. (eds) Sol-Gel Processing for Conventional and Alternative Energy. Advances in Sol-Gel Derived Materials and Technologies. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1957-0_5
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