Preparation and electrochemical assessment of polysulfone-based cation exchange membrane for fuel cell application

Proton exchange membranes are a key component of a fuel cell and have a significant effect on the electrochemical performance of fuel cells so achieving a proton exchange membrane with appropriate electrochemical properties such as proton conductivity, electrical area resistance while maintaining suitable physiochemical properties such as water uptake. So in this study, the sulfonated polysulfone membrane was performed using chlorosulfonic acid at 50 ° C for 4 hours for application in the proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The electrochemical-physiochemical properties of the synthesized ion-exchange polymer were investigated. The degree of sulfonation of 54% was determined using the H1 NMR and titration method from ion exchange capacity (IEC) formula, and proton conductivity of and 51 mS cm-1 was examined from impedance spectroscopy analysis. Also, the water uptake (WU) of 27% was obtained. The result of experiments showed that synthesized polysulfone has a reasonable performance in full cell applications.