Development of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) for Telecom fuel cell applications

Abstract

The high cost of fuel cells compared to other energy sources creates uncertainty about the projected full scale commercialization of this device. This paper describes the synthesis of a proton exchange membrane from the locally available polystyrene butadiene for fuel cell applications. Chlorosulphonic acid was used as the sulphonating agent and the effect of degree of sulphonation on membrane characteristics was determined. The sulphonated membranes were characterized according to its ion exchange capacity (IEC), degree of sulphonation (DS), proton conductivity, thermal stability and performance in a PEM fuel cell stack. These membranes were found to have proton conductivities in the order of 10-3-10-2S/cm in their fully hydrated state, which increases with an increase in degree of sulphonation. Other results revealed that the synthesized membranes are thermally stable and its performance in a PEM fuel cell stack is influenced by the degree of sulphonation.