Fabrication and Characterization of Composite Membrane Consisting of Three Dimensionally Ordered Polyimide Membrane and Proton Conductive Gel Polymer

Abstract

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have attracted considerable attention as promising power sources for mobile and stationary applications. Perfluorosulfonated polymer membranes have been used as polymer electrolyte membranes. However they are easily expanded by an immersion into water or methanol, which should result in methanol permeation through the membrane. Recently, we developed the composite membranes consisting of gel electrolyte and three-dimensionally ordered silica matrix. They exhibited low methanol cross-over due to the suppression of polymer expansion by the silica matrix. In this study, ordered macroporous membrane of polyimide, which might work as proton conductor by itself, was fabricated and evaluated as a matrix of composite electrolyte for fuel cell.