Fuel cell performance of anion exchange polymer electrolyte membranes prepared by radiation-induced grafting

Maekawa, Yasunari; Sinnananchi, W.; Koshikawa, Hiroshi; Yamaki, Tetsuya; Asano, Masaharu; Yamamoto, Kazuya*; Sampei, Fumihiro*; Asazawa, Koichiro*; Yamaguchi, Susumu*; Tanaka, Hirohisa*

Anion-exchange membranes (AEM) for hydrazine fuel cells, in which non precious metals are used as a electrode catalyst, were prepared using radiation techniques. The grafted AEM were prepared by the radiation-induced graft polymerization of chloromethylstyrene (CMS) into poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) films and subsequent quaternization of the grafts with trimethylamine. When the grafted AEM were treated in 1M-KOH and washed with N-saturated water, the membranes with chloride form (ETFE-TMAMS(Cl)) can be converted quantitatively to hydroxide form (ETFE-TMAMS(OH)) without the formation of the bicarbonate form. The grafted AEM with IEC of 2.0 mmol/g showed the maximum power density of more than 300 mW/cm with stability for 400 hours under the operation at 80C.