Highly Durable Membrane–Electrode-Assemblies Using High M
w and Ether-Free Polyfluorene-Based Electrolytes for Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzer
Authors: Kuroki Hidenori , Miyanishi Shoji , Narayanaru Sreekanth , Soni Roby , Anilkumar Gopinathan M. , Yamaguchi Takeo 
Published: February 2024

Water electrolysis technology, which produces hydrogen through electrolysis of water using electricity derived from renewable energy, is attracting attention as a way to realize a carbon-neutral society. Among water electrolysis systems, anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) can achieve high energy conversion efficiency and quick response to fluctuating power supplies by using thin polymer electrolyte membranes, and operates in an alkaline environment, allowing the use of inexpensive non-precious metals for bipolar plates and electrodes. However, conventional AEMs and ionomers exhibit low durability in high-temperature and alkaline environments, which is a critical issue in realizing high-performance and highly durable membrane–electrode assemblies (MEAs) for AEMWE.

Our group developed high-molecular-weight (M
w) and ether-free, polyfluorene-based anion conducting polyelectrolyte (PFT-Cx-TMA, Cx represent the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl side chain) as shown in Fig. 1a.1 These polyelectrolytes show high OH− conductivity over 100 mS cm−
1, high chemical durability (stable in 8 M NaOH at 80 °C for 168 h), and high tensile strength (25–42 MPa, comparable to a Nafion membrane). This study applied PFT-Cx-TMA to AEMs and ionomers in MEAs to evaluate the durability against various AEMWE operations (constant current operation and start-stop operation in different voltage ranges), demonstrating MEAs with both high performance and high durability.

Fig. 1b shows the constant current durability of the MEA with PFT-C8-TMA as AEM and ionomer.2 This test was performed at the constant current density of 0.2 A cm−
2 and 80 °C using a 1 M KOH aqueous solution fed to the anode. Here, to investigate the effects of AEMs and ionomers on MEA durability, conventional precious metal catalysts (anode: IrO2, cathode: Pt/C or PtRu/C) were used in the MEA. The MEA with PFT-C8-TMA exhibited a current density of 1.0 A cm−
2 at 1.79 V and there was almost no voltage change even after the constant current operation for over 100 h. It is noteworthy that the MEAs using PFT-C8-TMA and PFT-C10-TMA demonstrated high performance and high durability not only in the alkaline-fed operation but also in the pure-water-fed operation.

Next, this study investigated the start-stop durability of MEAs using voltage cycles simulating the start-stop operation of water electrolyzer. Here, square-wave voltage cycling of holding at 1.8 V and 0.1 V for 1 min each was used for the start-stop test at 80 °C with a 1 M KOH solution fed to the anode. As a comparison, the MEA was prepared using a commercial AEM (Sustainion X37-50, 50 μm in thickness) and ionomer (Sustaionion XB-7). As shown in Fig. 1c, the MEA using a PFT-C10-TMA AEM (56 μm in thickness) and ionomer was highly durable in the start-stop test compared to the MEA using commercial Sustaionion. During the test, the elution of black solid particles from the catalyst layer and the increase in charge transfer resistance (Rct) were observed in the MEA with Sustaionion, whereas no elution of catalyst materials and no change in Rct were confirmed in the MEA with PFT-C10-TMA. These results suggest that nonlinear mechanical stress via rapid bubble formation and shutdown during start-stop cycles caused the leaching of catalysts, resulting in the performance loss of the MEA with Sustainion. The commercial ionomer (Sustainion XB-7) exhibits a large dimensional change (156%) compared to the PFT-C10-TMA membrane (34%) at 80 °C in a 1 M KOH aqueous solution. Catalyst particles covered with a highly swollen ionomer are easily detached from a catalyst layer by the nonlinear mechanical stress. On the other hand, the PFT-C10-TMA ionomer has a high molecular weight (M
w = 240000 g mol−1), low swelling degree, and well-entangled polymer chains, hence preventing leaching of the catalyst particles.

In summary, this study demonstrates that MEAs using high M
w and ether-free polyfluorene-based electrolytes with both high chemical and mechanical durability have excellent durability for AEMWE operations including constant and dynamic (start-stop voltage cycling) operations.

Acknowledgement

This presentation is based on results obtained from a project, JPNP14021, commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

References

(1) S. Miyanishi and T. Yamaguchi, Polym. Chem., 2020, 11, 3812–3820.

(2) R. Soni, S. Miyanishi, H. Kuroki, and T. Yamaguchi, ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 2021, 4, 1053–1058.

Figure 1