Advertisement

If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)

ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.

ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCES TO C&EN

Materials

Ionic Membranes Go Metallic

Polymer Science: Cross-linked metal ionomers expand options for fuel-cell applications

by Stephen K. Ritter
March 19, 2012 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 90, Issue 12

Incorporating a ruthenium complex into the backbone of a cross-linked polymer has led to the first metal-based anion-exchange membranes. The new materials could make fuel cells more efficient and less expensive, and might allow them to operate under a wider range of reaction conditions (J. Am. Chem. Soc., DOI: DOI: 10.1021/ja211365r).

A team led by Gregory N. Tew of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Michael A. Hickner of Pennsylvania State University began by building a monomer from a ruthenium(II) terpyridine complex bearing a norbornene group. With ring-opening metathesis, they polymerized the norbornene unit, using different amounts of dicyclopentadiene as a cross-linkable comonomer to form a series of anion-exchange membranes.

The materials demonstrate anion conductivity and mechanical properties on par with existing nonmetal anion-exchange membranes used in water purification and fuel cells. But they have key advantages over their nonmetal analogs.

One advantage is that the divalent metal carries two anions, Tew says. That capability increases ion-exchange capacity and thus efficiency, compared with monovalent anion materials. “The metal-cation concept should allow us to increase the anion capacity beyond two anions per metal using other, perhaps cheaper, metals,” he adds.

Another benefit is the ruthenium complex’s stability at the high pH and moderate temperature (80 °C) found in alkaline fuel cells, Tew notes. The anion-exchange membrane is an expensive part of a fuel cell, an application for which the stability of standard quaternary ammonium-based anion membranes has been a concern.

The metal-cation films are “a creative breakthrough in membrane science,” says Ian Manners of the University of Bristol, in England, whose group makes metallopolymers.

Anion-exchange membranes have been dominated by polymeric materials based on quaternary ammonium groups, Manners explains. On the other hand, metal-cation-containing polymers are well established, and they have found applications as phosphorescent emitters and sensors and in redox-active gels, he adds. Putting the two concepts together “is a significant new development,” Manners says.

The new polymer design has been patented, Tew says, but the team hasn’t yet moved forward with any commercialization efforts.

Advertisement

Article:

This article has been sent to the following recipient:

0 /1 FREE ARTICLES LEFT THIS MONTH Remaining
Chemistry matters. Join us to get the news you need.