Development of polymer electrolyte membranes by ion-beam irradiation technique for fuel cell applications

Yamaki, Tetsuya; Kobayashi, Misaki*; Asano, Masaharu; Yoshida, Masaru; Nomura, Kumiko*; Takagi, Shigeharu*; Maekawa, Yasunari

no journal, , 

Fluoropolymer films were bombarded with swift heavy ions to produce an activated zone along the incident axis. The chemically active species generated in this so-called ion track were used to initiate the grafting of styrene, and the subsequent sulfonation of the graft chains provided the electrolyte membranes with anisotropic proton conductivity in the thickness direction. These membranes were found to have sufficient mechanical strength as well as highly conductive pathways with a cylindroidal shape of tens-to-hundreds nanometer size.