In situ proton exchange membrane fuel cell durability of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/polyelectrolyte blend Arkema M43 membrane

A typical perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) polymer electrolyte membrane is composed of a single type of polymer in order to meet the strict requirements for a fuel cell membrane. The Arkema Inc. membrane technology provides a simple and lower cost route to the design of durable membrane materials. The membrane employs two intimately mixed polymers: Kynar® PVDF, which provides excellent mechanical characteristics, barrier properties and chemical stability, and a hydrocarbon polyelectrolyte for high proton conductivity and water transport. This work reports in-cell accelerated durability results of Arkema M43 membranes. Arkema M43 membranes demonstrated operation times that are 8–10 times longer than two other types of PFSA membranes under open-circuit voltage (OCV)-hold and voltage-cycle tests; these materials also exhibited significantly better durability than Nafion® NRE211 under relative humidity (RH)-cycle tests. Unlike PFSAs, the membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) constructed using Arkema M43 membranes did not fail with catastrophic gas crossover in OCV-hold tests.