Hydrocarbon Proton Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cells: An Antioxidant Study
In fuel cells, hydrocarbon proton exchange membranes (HC PEMs) suffer from insufficient chemical stability caused by oxidative aging, hampering their commercial viability. Using sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) as a model HC PEM, we conduct a first-of-its-kind systematic screening of relevant antioxidants, combining ex situ Fenton tests and in situ fuel cell tests. Ionic additives based on cerium, as well as phosphonic-acid-derived (12-phosphonododecyl)phosphonic acid (PDPA), are found to significantly increase membrane lifetime. While ionic additives impart a performance penalty, PDPA proves to be not only an effective antioxidant but also benign regarding cell performance, revealing its potential for use in HC PEMs.
Authors
- Michael Yandrasits (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9493-0588)
- Lorenz Gubler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8338-6994)
- Torben Saatkamp (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7260-1513)
- Hong Ren
- William Bangay
- Victor Prely
- Zongyi Han
Institutions
- Johnson Matthey (Germany) (DE)
- Technology Centre Prague (CZ)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Applied Energy Materials
- Published
- 2026-02-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.5c03582
- Primary Topic
- Fuel Cells and Related Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00