Quaternary ammonia polysulfone-PTFE composite alkaline anion exchange membrane for fuel cells application

Abstract The quaternary ammonia polysulfone (QAPS) alkaline anion exchange membrane (AAEM) was previously prepared successfully. The QAPS membrane showed good ionic conductivity but poor mechanical strength and high swelling ratio. This study focused on membrane mechanical strength and dimensional stability by PTFE membrane enhancement, which increases the mechanical strength by five times and decreases the swelling ratio by 50%. The fuel cell with the resulted thinner QAPS/PTFE composite membrane with catalyst coated membrane (CCM) as the electrode showed a high power output, and the peak power density of 315 mW cm −2 was achieved at 50 °C.