Membrane and electrode assembly employing exclusion membrane for direct methanol fuel cell
AssigneeE. I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company
InventorsShoibal Banerjee, Cecelia C. Cropley, John A. Kosek, Anthony B. La Conti
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Abstract
Cation exchange membranes incorporating a thin layer of polymer having having a high ratio of backbone carbon atoms to cation exchange groups provide improved performance in direct methanol fuel cells.
Claims16
A membrane and electrode assembly comprising a cation exchange membrane with an electrode formed on at least one of its surfaces, said membrane comprising polymer having a polymer backbone and cation exchange groups carried on recurring side chains attached to said polymer backbone, the ratio of carbon atoms in said polymer backbone to cation exchange groups being at least about 23:1.
A membrane and electrode assembly comprising a cation exchange membrane with an electrode formed on at least one of its surfaces, said membrane being a laminate comprising a first layer of polymer having a polymer backbone and cation exchange groups carried on recurring side chains attached to said polymer backbone, the ratio of carbon atoms in said polymer backbone to cation exchange groups being at least about 23:1, and a second layer of at least one additional cation exchange polymer having a polymer backbone and cation exchange groups carried on recurring side chains attached to said polymer backbone, the ratio of carbon atoms in said polymer backbone to cation exchange groups being less than said ratio in said first layer.
A fuel cell comprising an anode compartment, a cathode compartment and a cation exchange membrane serving as a separator and electrolyte between said anode and cathode compartments, said membrane having an electrode formed on at least one of its surfaces, said membrane comprising polymer having a polymer backbone and cation exchange groups carried on recurring side chains attached to said polymer backbone, the ratio of carbon atoms in said polymer backbone to cation exchange groups being at least about 23:1.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.