Fabrication of Aquivion-type membranes and optimization of their elastic and transport characteristics

The solution casting technology was applied to manufacture thin polymer films (~ 20–30 μm) from the ionomer solution of perfluorinated polymer with short side chains (an analogue of the commercial polymer Aquivion®). The influence of annealing temperature on the mechanical properties (elastic limit), proton conductivity, and heat capacity was investigated. The elastic limit, glass transition temperature, and proton conductivity of the samples were found to reach their maximum values at the annealing temperature 170 ± 5 °C. Comparative studies of membrane-electrode assemblies (MEA) using the commercial (Nafion NR212) and solution-casted membranes were carried out. MEA with optimized Aquivion-type membranes showed satisfactory values of fuel crossover and maximum output power. The results of the conducted studies show that the prepared Aquivion-type membranes are very promising for practical application in MEA.