Reinforced Microcomposite Polymer Electrolyte Membrane and Its Characterization Fabricated By a Concise Process for PEMFC

In a different way from the conventional method, reinforced composite membranes were fabricated by using electrospinning and spraying with an accord. The hydrophobic polymer, polysulfone (PSf), was used as a substrate and the hydrophilic polymer, sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (sPAES), was used as an electrolyte. The ratio of PSf to sPAES was 1.7 : 8.3. The membrane properties and performance of the PSf electrospun / sPAES sprayed reinforced microcomposite membrane, PSf(ES)+sPAES(SP) was compared with i) pristine sPAES membrane, ii) PSf sprayed / sPAES electrospun reinforced microcomposite membrane, PSf(SP)+sPAES(ES), and iii) PSf, sPAES blend membrane. Although the PSf(ES)+sPAES(SP) membrane contained the substrate, its cell performance was not significantly different from the pristine sPAES membrane, and its durability was 2 times higher than that of pristine sPAES membrane. An article with the core results of this work was submitted to J. Membr. Sci. on March 18, 2018.