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. 2023 Jun 2;8(23):20845-20857.
doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c01564. eCollection 2023 Jun 13.

Study on Commercially Available Membranes for Alkaline Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells

Michaela Roschger  1 , Sigrid Wolf  1 , Andreas Billiani  1 , Kurt Mayer  1 , Maša Hren  2 , Selestina Gorgieva  2 , Boštjan Genorio  3 , Viktor Hacker  1
Affiliations

Study on Commercially Available Membranes for Alkaline Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells

Michaela Roschger et al. ACS Omega. .

Abstract

This study provides a comparison of different commercially available low-cost anion exchange membranes (AEMs), a microporous separator, a cation exchange membrane (CEM), and an anionic-treated CEM for their application in the liquid-feed alkaline direct ethanol fuel cell (ADEFC). Moreover, the effect on performance was evaluated taking two different modes of operation for the ADEFC, with AEM or CEM, into consideration. The membranes were compared with respect to their physical and chemical properties, such as thermal and chemical stability, ion-exchange capacity, ionic conductivity, and ethanol permeability. The influence of these factors on performance and resistance was determined by means of polarization curve and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) measurements in the ADEFC. In addition, the influence of two different commercial ionomers on the structure and transport properties of the catalyst layer and on the performance were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy, single cell tests, and EIS. The applicability barriers of the membranes were pointed out, and the ideal combinations of membrane and ionomer for the liquid-feed ADEFC achieved power densities of approximately 80 mW cm-2 at 80 °C.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematics of transport processes and reactions in the ADEFC with an anion or cation exchange membrane (AEM or CEM).
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Ion exchange capacity at RT and (b) ionic conductivity at 80 °C of the membranes (FAA-3-50, FAA-3-PK-75, FAS-30, FAAM-40, Nafion CEM, and Nafion AEM).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Thermogravimetric analysis curves of the membranes (FAA-3-50, FAA-3-PK-75, FAS-30, FAAM-40, Nafion CEM, and Nafion AEM) between 30 and 900 °C.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Dimensional changes (a) in-plane and (b) through-plane after 1 and 24 h of the membranes (FAA-3-50, FAA-3-PK-75, FAS-30, FAAM-40, Nafion CEM, and Nafion AEM) in 5 M KOH at 80 °C.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Ethanol–alkaline stability in 3 M EtOH and 5 M KOH solution at 80 °C measured with ionic conductivity of the membranes (FAA-3-50, FAA-3-PK-75, FAS-30, FAAM-40, Nafion CEM, and Nafion AEM).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Ethanol permeability after 1 and 24 h of the membranes (FAA-3-50, FAA-3-PK-75, FAS-30, FAAM-40, Nafion CEM, and Nafion AEM) at 25 °C.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Single cell measurement results for the comparison of the membranes (FAA-3-50, FAA-3-PK-75, FAS-30, FAAM-40, Nafion CEM, and Nafion AEM): power density (filled symbols) and polarization curves (unfilled symbols) for (a) condition I, (b) condition II, and (c) condition III; (d) maximum power density for the different conditions.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Electrochemical impedance spectra measurements (ZHIT algorithm) of the membrane measurements: (a) FAA-3-50, (b) FAA-3-PK-75, (c) FAS-30, (d) FAAM-40, (e) Nafion CEM, and (f) Nafion AEM and (g) comparison of the resistances at condition II [the shown inserted equivalent circuit is redrawn (for easier readability) from previous work: Roschger, M.; Wolf, S.; Mayer, K.; Singer, M.; Hacker, V. Alkaline Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell: Effect of the Anode Flow Field Design and the Setup Parameters on Performance. Energies2022, 15 (19), 7234. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/en15197234 which was published under a CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Copyright 2022 by the authors. License MDPI, Basel, Switzerland].
Figure 9
Figure 9
Morphology investigation of the electrodes produced using two different ionomers [FAA-3 (a,c) and Nafion (b,d)] with scanning electron microscopy: (a,b) cathode with Ag–MnxOy/C and (c,d) anode with PdNiBi/C.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Single cell measurement results for the comparison of the two different ionomers (FAA-3 and Nafion ionomer): power density (filled symbols) and polarization curves (unfilled symbols) for (a) condition I, (b) condition II, and (c) condition III; (d) maximum power density for the different conditions.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Electrochemical impedance spectra measurements (ZHIT algorithm) for the variation of ionomer: (a) Nafion-ionomer, (b) FAA-3-ionomer, and (c) comparison of the resistances under condition II [the shown inserted equivalent circuit is redrawn (for easier readability) from previous work: Roschger, M.; Wolf, S.; Mayer, K.; Singer, M.; Hacker, V. Alkaline Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell: Effect of the Anode Flow Field Design and the Setup Parameters on Performance. Energies2022, 15 (19), 7234. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/en15197234 which was published under a CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Copyright 2022 by the authors. License MDPI, Basel, Switzerland].
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