Chemical and radiation crosslinked polymer electrolyte membranes prepared from radiation-grafted ETFE films for DMFC applications

To develop a highly chemically stable polymer electrolyte membrane for application in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), doubly crosslinked membranes were prepared by chemical crosslinking using bifunctional monomers, such as divinylbenzene (DVB) and bis(p,p-vinyl phenyl) ethane (BVPE), and by radiation crosslinking. The membranes were prepared by grafting of m,p-methylstyrene (MeSt) and p-tert-butylstyrene (tBuSt) into poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) films and subsequent sulfonation. The effects of the DVB and BVPE crosslinkers on the grafting kinetics and the properties of the prepared membranes, such as water uptake, proton conductivity and chemical stability were investigated. Radiation crosslinking was introduced by irradiation of the ETFE base film, the grafted film or the sulfonated membrane. The membrane crosslinked by DVB and BVPE crosslinkers and post-crosslinked by γ-ray irradiation of the corresponding grafted film possessed the highest chemical stability among the prepared membranes, a significantly lower methanol permeability compared to Nafion® membranes, and a better DMFC performance for high methanol feed concentration. Therefore, this doubly crosslinked membrane was promising for application in a DMFC where relatively high methanol concentration could be fed.