2021 Volume 46 Issue 1 Pages 6-11
Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are regarded as attractive clean energy conversion devices for residential, transportation, and portable applications. Among several hydrogen storage modes, a high-pressure tank is state-of-the-art; however, some issues such as cost, safety, and portability (or volumetric hydrogen storage capacity) hampers the widespread dissemination of PEMFCs. Recently, we have elaborated an all-polymer type rechargeable PEMFC (RCFC), where a hydrogen-storable polymer (HSP) sheet, a solid-state organic hydride, was included inside a PEMFC in the anode side. RCFC was operable without supplying hydrogen from outside. The gas impermeability of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) is crucial for the operable time of the RCFC; use of a gas impermeable in-house SPP-QP (a polyphenylene ionomer membrane) prolonged the operation time, reaching up to ca. 10.2 sec mgHSP−1, which was more than two times longer than that with a commercially-available membrane (perfluorinated Nafion) cell. The RCFCs were operable repeatedly at least up to 50 cycles. The features of this RCFC system, including safety, ease of handling, and light weight, suggest applications in portable, light-weight hydrogen-based energy devices.
