Proton conducting membrane using a solid acid
AssigneeCalifornia Institute of Technology
InventorsSossina M. Haile, Calum Chisholm, Dane A. Boysen, Sekharipuram R. Narayanan
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Abstract
A solid acid material is used as a proton conducting membrane in an electrochemical device. The solid acid material can be one of a plurality of different kinds of materials. A binder can be added, and that binder can be either a nonconducting or a conducting binder. Nonconducting binders can be, for example, a polymer or a glass. A conducting binder enables the device to be both proton conducting and electron conducting.
Claims43
A proton conducting membrane for use in a fuel cell comprising:
- a solid acid material defined by the chemical formula:
- MaHb(XOt)c
- where M is a cation having a charge from +1 to +2, X is selected from the group consisting of S, Se, P, As, Si and Ge and a, b, c, and t are non-zero integers, wherein the solid acid material exhibits a superprotonic phase such that the solid acid material is capable of conducting protons in a solid state through a superprotonic mechanism, wherein said membrane is in a fuel cell.
A fuel cell comprising a proton conducting membrane, said proton conducting membrane comprising:
- a solid acid material defined by the chemical formula:
- MaHb(XOt)c
- Where X is selected from the group consisting of S, Se, P, As, Si and Ge, and a, b, c, and t are non-zero integers, wherein the solid acid material is capable of conducting protons in a solid state through a superprotonic mechanism, wherein M has a variable valence and said membrane conducts both protons and electrons.
A fuel cell comprising a proton conducting membrane for use in the presence of H2O, said proton conducting membrane comprising:
- a solid acid material defined by the chemical formula:
- MaHb(XOt)c
- where M is a cation having a charge from +1 to +2, X is selected from the group consisting of S, Se, P, As, Si and Ge, and a, b, c, and t are non-zero integers, wherein the solid acid material is capable of conducting protons in a solid state through a superprotonic mechanism.
A fuel cell comprising a proton conducting membrane, said proton conducting membrane comprising:
- a solid acid material defined by the chemical formula:
- MaHb(XOt)c
- Where X is selected from the group consisting of S, Se, P, As, Si and Ge, and a, b, c, and t are non-zero integers, wherein the solid acid material is capable of conducting protons in a solid state through a superprotonic mechanism, the membrane further comprising a structural binder, wherein the structural binder is an electrically conducting carbon material.
A fuel cell comprising a proton conducting membrane for use in the presence of H2O, said proton conducting membrane comprising:
- a solid acid material defined by the chemical formula:
- MaHb(XOt)c
- wherein M is Cs, X is selected from the group consisting of S, Se, P, As, Si and Ge, and a, b, c, and t are non-zero integers, the XOt groups being linked together by hydrogen bonds, and the membrane further comprising a structural binder forming a membrane with the solid acid material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.