Nanostructured proton-conductive membranes prepared by swift heavy ion irradiation for fuel cell applications

Yamaki, Tetsuya

Researchers at Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) have been intensively working on quantum beam technology for the development of proton-conductive membranes for PEMFCs since 2001. My presentation deals with the application of high-energy heavy ion beams from the cyclotron accelerator of Takasaki Ion Accelerators for Advanced Radiation Application (TIARA), JAEA. Our strategic focus is centered on using nano-scale controllability of the ion-beam processing; the membrane preparation involves (1) the irradiation of commercially-available base polymer films with hundreds of MeV ions, (2) graft polymerization of vinyl monomers into electronically-excited parts along the ion trajectory, called latent tracks, and (3) sulfonation of the graft polymers. The resulting membranes were compared with those prepared by the conventional -ray-induced grafting in terms of membrane nanostructures, proton conductivity, and other properties.