MULTILAYERED ION EXCHANGE MEMBRANES
An ion exchange membrane has multiple layers of ionic polymers which each contain substantially different chemical compositions. i.e. varying side chain lengths, varying backbone chemistries or varying ionic functionality. Utilizing completely different chemistries has utility in many applications such as fuel cells where for example, one layer can help reduce fuel crossover through the membrane. Or one layer can impart substantial hydrophobicity to the electrode formulation. Or one layer can selectively diffuse a reactant while excluding others. Also, one chemistry may allow for impartation of significant mechanical properties or chemical resistance to another more ionically conductive ionomer. The ion exchange membrane may include at least two layers with substantially different chemical properties.
1 . An ion exchange membrane comprising:
a) a first layer of ion exchange polymer having a first ion exchange capacity, a first side chain length, and a first functional group; and
b) a second layer of ion exchange polymer having a second ion exchange capacity that is at least 20% greater than said first ion exchange capacity.
2 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 1 , wherein the ion exchange polymer is a cation exchange polymer.
3 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 1 , wherein the ion exchange polymer is perfluorinated.
4 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 1 , wherein the ion exchange polymer is perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA).
5 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 4 , wherein the first layer of ion exchange polymer has an equivalent weight of ion exchange polymer per moles of functional group of 800 g/mol or less.
6 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 1 , wherein the first functional group is a sulfonic acid functional group.
7 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 6 , wherein the second layer of ion exchange membrane has carboxylic acid functional groups.
8 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 1 , wherein the ion exchange polymer is an anion exchange polymer.
9 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 1 , further comprising a porous scaffold material and wherein at least one of the first layer of ion exchange polymer or second layer of ion exchange polymer is configured in said porous scaffold material.
10 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 9 , wherein the porous scaffold material is selected from the group consisting of: microporous polyethylene, microporous polypropylene, or microporous polytetrafluoroethylene.
11 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 10 , wherein the porous scaffold material has a pore size of 0.005 microns to 0.05 microns.
12 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 1 , wherein, the first layer of ion exchange polymer has a first side chain length and wherein the second layer of ion exchange polymer has a second side chain length that is at least 20% longer than said first side chain length.
13 . The ion exchange membrane of claim 1 , wherein the first layer of ion exchange polymer has a first functional group and wherein the second layer of ion exchange polymer has a second functional group that is different than said first functional group.