Anionic membranes incorporating functional additives
AssigneeFfi Ionix IP, Inc.
InventorsBamdad Bahar, Taoli Gu
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Abstract
An ultra-thin anion exchange membrane incorporates functional additives to provide improved water management. Without the functional additives the ultra-thin membrane may have high cross-over and not be effective for many applications. A composite anion exchange membrane includes a porous scaffold support such as a porous polymer. The anion exchange polymer may be coupled to the porous scaffold, such as by being imbibed into the pores of the porous scaffold. The functional additives may contribute to increase water production, water retention, back-diffusion and reduce the gas crossover. A functional additive may include a reactive species, including a catalyst that reacts with oxygen or hydrogen, a plasticizer, a hygroscopic material and/or a radical scavenger.
Claims21
An anion exchange membrane comprising:
- a) an anion exchange polymer comprising:
- i) polyphenylenes homopolymer backbones with side chain consisting of hydrophilic side chains with a CF3 linkage to said backbone;
- and
- ii) said hydrophilic side chains being linear hydrocarbon side chains having functional groups;
- wherein the anion exchange polymer extends as a first surface layer on a first side and as a second surface layer on a second side, opposing said first side, of the anion exchange membrane;
- b) a functional additive configured within the anion exchange membrane, between said first surface layer of said anion exchange polymer and said second surface layer of said anion exchange polymer, wherein the functional additive comprises a radical scavenger comprising polydopamine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.