Sulfonated-perfluorocyclobutane polyelectrolyte membranes for fuel cells
View Patent ↗A process for preparing a polymer comprising sulfonating a perfluorocyclobutane polymer with a sulfonating agent to form a sulfonated perfluorocyclobutane polymer, wherein the sulfonating agent comprises oleum, SO 3 or a combination thereof is provided. A process for preparing proton exchange membranes and fuel cells comprising the proton exchange membrane are also provided.
1. A fuel cell comprising:
a proton exchange membrane comprising an ion conducting polymer, the ion conducting polymer comprising a repeat unit described by the following formula:
that is repeated n times to form a polymer block having the following formula:
wherein n is from about 20 to about 500, the repeat unit being sufficiently sulfonated that the proton exchange membrane has an ion exchange capacity between 1.4 and 1.9 meq of sulfonic acid;
an anode flowfield portion; and
a cathode flowfield portion, the anode flowfield portion and cathode flowfield portion being disposed on opposite sides of the proton exchange membrane.
2. The fuel cell of claim 1 wherein each repeat unit comprises 0 to 2 sulfonic acid groups.