PREPARATION OF A MEMBRANE AND ITS USE IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL

Abstract: Method for making a porous membrane with a symmetrical structure which is gastight when saturated with electrolyte and whereby, according to this method, a solution is made from an organic binding agent in a solvent and the solvent is removed by means of extraction through immersion in an organic non-solvent, characterized in that an amount of metal oxide and/or metal hydroxide is added to the solution.

Description: PREPARATION OF A MEMBRANE AND ITS USE IN AN ELECTROCHEMICAL CELL. The present invention concerns a method for making a porous membrane with a symmetrical structure which is gastight when saturated with electrolyte and whereby, according to this method, a solution is made from an organic binding agent in a solvent and the solvent is removed by means of extraction through immersion in an organic non-solvent. It is known that the structure of such membranes depends on the speed at which the solvent is removed. This speed is clearly different depending on whether water or another non-solvent is used. The influence of the non-solvent on the structure with ultrafiltration membranes is described among others in "Pore Size Control Technigue in the Spinning of Polysulfone Hollow Fiber Ultrafiltration Membranes" as appeared in "Desalination", 80 (1991) 167-180 (Elsevier Science Publishers). A solution of polysulphone in N- methyl-pyrrolidone was immersed in various non-solvents, also called coagulants. Hereby it was clear that with water being used as non-solvent, finger-like pores were obtained, whereas when other non-solvents such as ethanol were used for the immersion, but in particular isopropyl alcohol, a fine symmetrical pore structure was obtained. It is clear that with membranes with finger-like pores, the gastightness is not always guaranteed. With the usual thicknesses of the membrane in for example electrochemical cells, one or more pores can extend crosswise through the membrane. Also when welding the membranes in for example an electrochemical cell structure or when the surface is damaged, gas leaks may occur in membranes made with water as non-solvent. The above-mentioned method with immersion in an organic non-solvent makes it possible to obtain symmetrical membranes which are gastight when saturated with electrolyte, but the ion conductivity of these membranes is low when they are filled with electrolyte, such that they cannot be applied in electrochemical cells. As for the application of the membranes with ultrafiltration as described in the above-mentioned publication, this low conductivity is irrelevant and not hindering. The invention aims to remedy said disadvantage and to provide a method for making a membrane of the type mentioned in the first paragraph, but according to which a symmetrical membrane can be obtained which does not only have the reguired pore structure but also the reguired conductivity when saturated with electrolyte, such that it can also be used in electrochemical cells. To this aim, an amount of metal oxide and/or metal hydroxide is added to the solution. This amount of metal oxide and/or metal hydroxide also makes sure that a membrane separator obtained in this manner prevents the electrodes of an electrochemical cell to short-circuit, even under very high pressures. Surprisingly, it appeared that through the addition of a metal oxide or metal hydroxide the structure is positively influenced and the membrane obtains a good conductivity even when saturated with electrolyte, such that it is fit to be used in electrochemical cells. According to a practical embodiment of the invention, zirconium oxide is used as metal oxide. According to a special embodiment of the invention, alcohol is used as organic non-solvent. Practically, isopropyl alcohol is used as organic non- solvent. According to a peculiar embodiment of the invention, an amount of pore-forming material is added to the mixture. The addition of such a material promotes the pore formation. Among others in the skin formed on the outside of the membrane, which is denser than the core, a relatively large amount of pores and a very good conductivity are obtained when the membrane is saturated with electrolyte. In particular, an amount of polyvinyl pyrrolidone is added as pore-forming material. According to a practical embodiment, a certain amount of zinc oxide is added as pore-forming material. The invention does not only concern the above-described method, but also the membrane obtained according to this method. As mentioned above, the membrane has a typical pore structure, but also a very high conductivity. The invention also concerns an electrochemical cell containing such a membrane. The membrane is particularly suited for alkaline cells. in particular as a gastight separator, filled with electrolyte, between the electrodes. Other particularities and advantages of the invention will become clear from the following description of a method for making a membrane, of a membrane made in this way and of an electrochemical cell with such a membrane according to the invention. This description is given as an example only without being limitative in any way. To make a non-reinforced membrane with a symmetrical structure suited for electrochemical cells, a suspension of zirconium oxide is prepared in a solution of a binding agent in a solvent, this suspension is provided on a support and the solvent is removed, after which the membrane is removed from the support. To make the suspension, a solution of a polymer binding agent such as polysulphone is first prepared in a solvent such as 1- or N-methy1-2-pyrrolidone, for example in a proportion of 10 to 30 percent by weight binding agent in relation to the amount of solvent. Preferably, at least an additive is added to this suspension which advances the pore formation. Polyvinyl pyrrolidone is a suitable pore-forming material whereby a suitable amount lies between 0.5 and 2 percent by weight, for example 0.7 percent by weight of the entire composition. This pore-forming material is first solved in the solvent, after which the polymer binding agent is added to the formed solution, preferably at an increased temperature, for example at 70 to 75 degrees Celsius. This pore-forming material provides pores in the skin on the outer sides of the formed membrane. Mixing is reguired for 15 to 20 minutes, after which the air is expelled for 15 to 20 minutes by means of a vacuum pump during soft mixing. This solution is put in a previously cleaned ball mill and the zirconium oxide is added to it, preferably with a weight ratio of 65/35 to 95/5 in relation to the amount of polysulphone. After the zirconium oxide has been broken and the thorough mixing is finished, the suspension is poured out of the ball mill with an excess pressure of 1 bar by means of compressed air through a filter with meshes of 0.09 mm. In order to facilitate the pouring, the ball mill can be heated, for example to a temperature of some 50 degrees Celsius. By means of a pouring device of which the glass base has been cleaned and degreased, a layer of 800 to 1,000 micrometer of the suspension is applied onto the glass plate. In order to remove the solvent from the suspension layer, the glass plate with the layer is immersed in an organic non-solvent such as alcohol, preferably at room temperature. Suitable types of alcohol are ethanol, but especially isopropyl alcohol. Usually, an immersion time of 20 to 40 minutes is sufficient. The major part of the solvent and the organic pore-forming additive are extracted in the non-solvent. The obtained membrane is removed from the glass plate and the remaining solvent is removed by immersing the membrane in a water bath for several hours. Finally, the membrane is boiled three times in demineralized water, whereby in between each boiling the water is freshened and the membrane is rinsed with tepid water of about 40 degrees Celsius. The thus obtained membrane can be cut at the desired sizes. Due to the extraction of the solvent in a non-solvent, in particular isopropyl alcohol, whereby said extraction takes place at a specific speed, a special structure is obtained for the membrane, with relatively fine pores. The outer layers of the membrane are denser, but nevertheless have suitable pores, especially as a result of the addition of polyvinyl pyrrolidone. If the pore-forming additive is an anorganic substance, this must be extracted later on in an anorganic acid or base. The membrane can be made in a shape other than the shape of the plate, such as a tube shape. Hereby the membrane can be re-shaped, after being formed in the shape of a flat plate on a support, but it can also be directly formed in another shape, even without the use of a support. The mixture of the solution of the organic binding agent and the zirconium oxide can be directly brought in the desired shape in the non-solvent, for example by means of a spinning machine or by means of extrusion. The invention will be further specified by means of the following examples: Example 1; In a mixing device (High Speed Dissolver Pendraulik TD.100.5) with a 3-litre blender connected to a vacuum pump (VERDER, type N726 FTE) were put 1640 g of 1-methyl- 2-pyrrolidone (Janssen Chimica 14.932.91) and subseguently 24.1 g of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (Janssen Chemica 016228) and mixed at 1,200 revs/min. for 20 minutes. 360 g polysulphone (Amoco Chemicals Udel P 1800 NT 11) were added to the blender and also mixed at 2,000 revs/min. for 18 minutes. The mixing was continued at a lower stirring speed (465 revs/min.) while the air was expelled for 18 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. The thus obtained yellow, viscous solution which had a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees Celsius and which was free of air bells was caught in a bottle. The previous stages were repeated twice and the solutions were homogeneously mixed in the bottle by placing it on a roller bench. A ball mill with a volume of 15 litres and an inner diameter of 260 mm was loaded for about 30% with steatite balls, namely 3 kg with 6 mm diameter, 3 kg with 10 mm diameter and 4 kg with 20 mm diameter. The ball mill as well as the balls were thoroughly cleaned beforehand, first with the solvent and subseguently with water and then rinsed with ethyl alcohol and dried, the balls in an oven and the ball mill by means of compressed air. To the ball mill with' balls were successively added 3516.2 g zirconium oxide and 4942.5 g of the above- mentioned viscous solution from the bottle. The ball mill was sealed and placed on a roller bench (KERA R3/ET/VAR 122) and activated for 160 hours with a rotation speed of 43 revs/min. Next, the ball mill was heated in a water bath with a temperature of about 50 degrees Celsius for 3 hours so as to advance the pouring out. The content of the ball mill was then poured into a bottle which was placed on said roller bench until the following treatment. This following treatment implied a filtration through a woven nylon net with meshes of 0.09 mm by means of compressed air with an excess pressure of 1 bar. The filtered suspension was put in a bottle and de-aerated for 30 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. This bottle was then placed on the above-mentioned roller bench for 5 minutes after which the content of the bottle was slowly brought under atmospheric pressure again. A layer of the suspension was casted by means of a casting installation whose glass base had been cleaned with denaturated ethanol and whose palette knife had been set at 900 micrometer above the glass base. After the casting the glass base with the layer was immersed in a tank filled with 15 litres of isopropyl alcohol (100%) at room temperature for 30 minutes. The obtained membrane was removed from the glass base and immersed in a tank filled with 1,000 litres of demineralized water with a conductivity between 0.25 and 0.65 microsiemens/cm 2 and 10 litres of agueous solution of formaldehyde of 37% for 16 hours. Finally, the membrane was boiled in three stages of 10 minutes, 10 minutes and 60 minutes respectively in a boiling tank filled with 38 litres of demineralized water. After each stage, the water was freshened and the membrane was rinsed with tepid water of 40 degrees Celsius. The obtained membrane was cut up to smaller membranes with the reguired dimensions. These membranes were visually checked by means of an inspection light. The approved membranes were kept in a storage tank filled with 45 litres of demineralized water and 0.45 litres of agueous solution of formaldehyde of 37%. Example 2. In a mixing device (High Speed dissolver pendraulik TO.100.5) with a 3-litre blender connected to a vacuum pump (VERDER, type N726 FTE) were put 450 g of N-methyl- 2-pyrrolidone (Janssens Chimica 14.932.91) and subsequently 150 g of polysulphone (Amoco Chemicals udel P 1800 NT 11) and mixed at 2,000 revs/min. for 18 minutes. The mixing was continued at a lower stirring speed (465 revs/min.) while the air was expelled for 18 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. The thus obtained yellow, viscous solution which had a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees Celsius and which was free of air bells was caught in a bottle. In the same mixing device, 492.4 g of the suspension obtained from the above-described stage and 228.6 g Zirconium oxide were mixed at 2,000 revs/min. in a 3- litre blender for 30 minutes; the mixing was continued at a lower stirring speed (1,000 revs/min.) while the air was expelled for 10 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. The thus obtained suspension (56 degrees Celsius) was filtered through a woven nylon net with meshes of 0.09 mm without the help of compressed air. The filtered IP- suspension was put in a bottle and de-aerated for 30 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. This bottle was then placed on the above-mentioned roller bench for 5 minutes after which the content of the bottle was slowly brought under atmospheric pressure again. A layer of the suspension was casted by means of a casting installation whose glass base had been cleaned with denaturated ethanol and whose palette plate had been set at 670 micrometer above the glass base. After the casting the glass base with the layer was immersed in a tank filled with 15 litres of isopropyl alcohol (100%) at room temperature for 30 minutes. The obtained layer was cut up to membranes with the required dimensions. These membranes were visually checked by means of an inspection light. The approved membranes were kept in a storage tank filled with 45 litres of demineralized water and 0.45 litres of aqueous solution of formaldehyde of 37%. Example 3. In a mixing device (High Speed dissolver pendraulik TO.100.5) with a 3-litre blender connected to a vacuum pump (Verder, type N726 FTE) were put 480 g of N-methyl- 2-pyrrolidone (Jansse ' ns Chimica 14.932.91) and subseguently 120 g of polysulphone (Amoco Chemicals udel P 1800 NT 11) and mixed at 2,000 revs/min. for 18 minutes. The mixing was continued at a lower stirring speed (465 revs/min.) while the air was expelled for 18 minutes by ϋ means of a vacuum pump. The thus obtained yellow, viscous solution which had a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees Celsius and which was free of air bells was caught in a bottle. In the same mixing device, 477 g of the suspension obtained from the above-described stage and 286.2 g Zirconium oxide were mixed at 2,000 revs/min. in a 3- litre blender for 30 minutes; the mixing was continued at a lower stirring speed (1,000 revs/min.) while the air was expelled for 10 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. The thus obtained suspension (56 degrees Celsius) was filtered through a woven nylon net with meshes of 0.09 mm without the help of compressed air. The filtered suspension was put in a bottle and de-aerated for 30 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. This bottle was then placed on the above-mentioned roller bench for 5 minutes after which the content of the bottle was slowly brought under atmospheric pressure again. A layer of the suspension was casted by means of a casting installation whose glass base had been cleaned with denaturated ethanol and whose palette plate had been set at 670 micrometer above the glass base. After the casting the glass base with the layer was immersed in a tank filled with 15 litres of isopropyl alcohol (100%) at room temperature for 30 minutes. The obtained layer was cut up to membranes with the required dimensions. These membranes were visually checked by means of an inspection light. The approved membranes were kept in a storage tank filled with 45 II litres of demineralized water and 0.45 litres of aqueous solution of formaldehyde of 37%. Example 4. In a mixing device (High Speed dissolver pendraulik TO.100.5) with a 3-litre blender connected to a vacuum pump (Verder, type N726 FTE) were put 425 g of N-methyl- 2-pyrrolidone (Janssens Chimica 14.932.91) and 75 g of polysulphone (Amoco Chemicals udel P 1800 NT 11) and mixed at 2,000 revs/min. for 18 minutes. The mixing was continued at a lower stirring speed (465 revs/min. ) while the air was expelled for 18 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. The thus obtained yellow, viscous solution which had a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees Celsius and which was free of air bells was caught in a bottle. In the same mixing device, 454 g of the suspension obtained from the above-described stage and 385.9 g Zirconium oxide were mixed at 2,000 revs/min. in a 3- litre blender for 30 minutes; the mixing was continued at a lower stirring speed (1,000 revs/min.) while the air was expelled for 10 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. The thus obtained suspension (56 degrees Celsius) was filtered through a woven nylon net with meshes of 0.09 mm without the help of compressed air. The filtered suspension was put in a bottle and de-aerated for 30 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. This bottle was then placed on the above-mentioned roller bench for 5 minutes after which the content of the bottle 12. was slowly brought under atmospheric pressure again. A layer of the suspension was casted by means of a casting installation whose glass base had been cleaned with denaturated ethanol and whose palette plate had been set at 540 micrometer above the glass base. After the casting the glass base with the layer was immersed in a tank filled with 15 litres of isopropyl alcohol (100%) at room temperature for 30 minutes. The obtained layer was cut up to membranes with the required dimensions. These membranes were visually checked by means of an inspection light. The approved membranes were kept in a storage tank filled with 45 litres of demineralized water and 0.45 litres of aqueous solution of formaldehyde of 37%. Example 5. In a mixing device (High Speed dissolver pendraulik TO.100.5) with a 3-litre blender connected to a vacuum pump (Verder, type N726 FTE) were put 425 g of N-methyl- 2-pyrrolidone (Janssens Chimica 14.932.91) and 75 g of polysulphone (Amoco Chemicals udel P 1800 NT 11) and mixed at 2,000 revs/min. for 18 minutes. The mixing was continued at a lower stirring speed (465 revs/min.) while the air was expelled for 18 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. The thus obtained yellow, viscous solution which had a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees Celsius and which was free of air bells was caught in a bottle. In the same mixing device, 385.6 g of the suspension obtained from the above-described stage and 732.4 g Zirconium oxide were mixed at 2,000 revs/min. in a 3- litre blender for 30 minutes; the mixing was continued at a lower stirring speed (1,000 revs/min.) while the air was expelled for 10 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. The thus obtained suspension (56 degrees Celsius) was filtered through a woven nylon net with meshes of 0.09 mm without the help of compressed air. The filtered suspension was put in a bottle and de-aerated for 30 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. This bottle was then placed on the above-mentioned roller bench for 5 minutes after which the content of the bottle was slowly brought under atmospheric pressure again. A layer of the suspension was casted by means of a casting installation whose glass base had been cleaned with denaturated ethanol and whose palette plate had been set at 540 micrometer above the glass base. After the casting the glass base with the layer was immersed in a tank filled with 15 litres of isopropyl alcohol (100%) at room temperature for 30 minutes. The obtained layer was cut up to membranes with the required dimensions. These membranes were visually checked by means of an inspection light. The approved membranes were kept in ' a storage tank filled with 45 litres of demineralized water and 0.45 litres of aqueous solution of formaldehyde of 37%. The influence from the proportion of zirconium oxide on polysulphone can be derived from the examples 2 to 5. The more zirconium oxide the lower the resistance, as shown in the following table. % Zr0 2 /% polysulphone Ion resistance in 6N KOH at room temperature (Ohm.cm 2 ) 3.46 1.02 0.27 0.12 Example 6. In a mixing device (High Speed Dissolver Pendraulik TD.100.5) with a 3-litre blender connected to a vacuum group (VERDER, type N725 FTE) were put 1,045.6 g of 1- methyl-2-pyrrolidone (Janssen Chimica 14.932.91) and subsequently 199.2 g of polysulphone (Amoco Chemicals udel P 1800 NTH). These products were mixed at approx. 2,000 revs/min. for 20 minutes. A mixture of 896.2 g ZnO (type Aldrich) and 896.2 g Zr0 2 (type MEL E101) were added at a lower stirring speed (approx. 1,000 revs/min.) and mixed for 1 hour. The final temperature of this suspension amounted to approx. 100 °C. This suspension was put in a bottle and de-aerated for 5 minutes by means of a vacuum pump. i This bottle was then placed on a roller bench for 30 minutes at a rotation speed of 5 revs/min. After having stood on the roller bench for 30 minutes, the bottle was slowly brought under atmospheric pressure again. A layer of the suspension was casted by means of a casting installation whose glass base had been cleaned with denaturated ethanol and whose palette knife had been set at 460 micrometer above the glass base. After the casting the glass base with the layer was immersed in a tank filled with 15 litres of isopropyl alcohol (100%) at room temperature for 30 minutes. After having been rinsed with water, the membrane was subsequently immersed in 6 M HC1 at room temperature for 1 hour. Next, the membrane was immersed in water. This water was freshened until a pH value of 7 was reached. The membranes obtained according to the above-described method can be used as separators in electrochemical cells and in particular in alkaline cells. For the membranes are sufficiently porous to be able to contain electrolyte, but entirely gastight when saturated with electrolyte. The gas separation is sufficient, so that the membranes can be used in electrolysis cells; however, a very suitable application is in alkaline cells such as a dry manganese dioxide-zinc cell, a hydrogen-oxygen cell, a hydrogen-air cell or a nickel-hydrogen cell. The membrane is saturated ' with potassium hydroxide and mounted immediately next to the cathode r as a coating thereof, in the cell. The electrolyte can also be added after the assembly. The use of a membrane made according to example 1 as a separator in an oxygen-hydrogen fuel cell with 6N KOH as 2 electrolyte at 95 degrees Celsius provided a stable operation for more than 200 hours. According to the above-described method, the pores are distributed relatively evenly and the risk of gas leaks, for example when welding a membrane in a cell or in case of other damages to the surface of the membrane, is considerably smaller than with membranes obtained according to other methods. The invention is in no way limited to the embodiments described above and, within the scope of the patent application, many modifications can be made to these embodiments.

Claims: Claims . 1. Method for making a porous membrane with a symmetrical structure which is gastight when saturated with electrolyte and whereby, according to this method, a solution is made from an organic binding agent in a solvent and the solvent is removed by means of extraction through immersion in an organic non-solvent, characterized in that an amount of metal oxide and/or metal hydroxide is added to the solution. 2. Method according to the above claim, characterized in that zirconium oxide is used as metal oxide. 3. Method according to any of the above claims, characterized in that a type of alcohol is used as organic non-solvent. 4. Method according to the above claim, characterized in that isopropyl alcohol is used as organic non-solvent. 5. Method according to any of the above claims, characterized in that an amount of pore-forming material is added to the mixture. 6. Method according to the above claim, characterized in that polyvinyl pyrrolidone is added as pore-forming material. 7. Method according to any of the above claims, characterized in that an amount of zinc oxide is added to the mixture as pore-forming material. 8. Method according to any of the above claims. 11 characterized in that polysulphone is used as binding agent. 9. Method according to any of the above claims, characterized in that 1- or N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone is used as solvent. 10. Method according to any of the above claims, characterized in that metal oxide and/or metal hydroxide is added in a weight proportion between 65/35 and 95/5 in relation to the organic binding agent. 11. Membrane made according to the method of any of the above claims. 12. Electrochemical cell containing a membrane between two electrodes, characterized in that the membrane is made according to the method of any of claims 1 to 10. 13. Electrochemical cell according to the above claim, characterized in that it is an alkaline cell and in that the membrane is saturated with electrolyte and thus forms a separator between two electrodes.

Inventors: ADRIANSENS WALTER, DOYEN WILLY, LEYSEN ROGER, VERMEIREN PHILIPPE, ADRIANSENS, WALTER, DOYEN, WILLY, LEYSEN, ROGER, VERMEIREN, PHILIPPE
Applicants: VITO, VLAAMSE INSTELLING VOOR TECHNOLOGISCH ONDERZOEK "V
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B01D67
IPC codes: B01D67, C25B13, H01M2, H01M8