Patent ID: 7635062

Claim:
A composite article comprising: a porous membrane comprising a first material; a coating applied to said porous membrane, said coating comprising a second material, said second material comprising a fluorinated vinyl-based copolymer having sulfonyl functionality, said fluorinated vinyl-based copolymer having between about 20 percent to about 70 percent fluorine by weight; and a third material covering said coating, said third material substantially incompatible with said first material, said third material comprising an ion exchange material selected from the group consisting of a sulfonated polystyrene, sulfonated styrene grafted to polyvinylidene difluoride-based polymers, a sulfonated polyethersulfone, a sulfonated poly(ether etherketone), a sulfonated poly(phenylene sulfide), and a perfluorinated ionomer containing sulfonic or carboxylic ionic functional groups; said second material of said coating compatible with said first material and said third material; said coating positioned between said first material and said third material, said third material connected to said first material by said coating on said porous membrane.