SBIR Phase I: Ultrathin Polymer Electrolyte Composites with Exceptional Conductivity, Mechanical Strength and Chemical Durability

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是生产聚合物复合材料，使碱性电化学设备（如燃料电池和电解槽）商业化。燃料电池技术的使用将有助于保护环境，减缓气候变化，减少我们的碳足迹，确保可再生能源供应。电解槽是一种越来越有吸引力的生产超纯氢的方法，超纯氢是一种重要的化学原料和燃料。目前，这些技术的广泛采用受到铂催化剂驱动的高系统成本的阻碍。通过允许使用非贵金属催化剂（如不锈钢、镍、钴及其合金），在碱性条件下使用碱性交换膜（AEMs）来缓解这一痛点是必要的。此外，与现有的聚合物电解质不同，AEMs的生产成本更低，并且在使用寿命结束时可回收，从而进一步降低了设备的成本。生产商业上可行的AEMs，使燃料电池和电解槽系统能够在经济上与现有的化石燃料能源相竞争，从而得到广泛应用。SBIR一期项目拟生产符合商用AEM严格性能标准的聚合物电解质复合材料，包括耐久性、氢氧化物导电性和碱性操作条件下的机械强度。一种具有空前化学稳定性的专有聚合物组合物将被纳入微孔聚合物结构支撑中。通常，AEMs中的阳离子百分比必须保持较低，否则膜在操作过程中过度膨胀而恶化。在结构支架中加入聚合物可以增加阳离子浓度和离子交换容量（IEC），从而使AEMs具有高氢氧化物导电性。此外，复合材料的机械强度是由支撑决定的，不会像无支撑膜那样因高IEC而降低。将采用一种聚合方法，可以对阳离子浓度进行精细控制，并且可以在支架内进行反应，从而简化复合材料的制造。我们独特的聚合物组成和结构支撑的结合，在不损失机械强度的情况下最大限度地提高了导电性，这是我们技术商业化的一个重要里程碑。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to produce polymer composites that enable commercialization of alkaline electrochemical devices, such fuel cells and electrolyzers. The use of fuel cell technologies will help preserve the environment, mitigate climate change, decreasing our carbon footprint and securing renewable energy supply. Electrolyzers are an increasingly attractive method of producing ultrapure hydrogen, an essential chemical feedstock and fuel. Currently, widespread adoption of these technologies is prevented by the high system costs, which are driven by the platinum catalysts. Operating under alkaline conditions with alkaline exchange membranes (AEMs) is necessary to relieve this pain point by allowing the use non-precious metal catalysts (e.g. stainless steel, nickel, cobalt, and their alloys). Moreover, AEMs will be less expensive to produce and recyclable at the end of lifetime, unlike the existing polymer electrolytes, further decreasing the cost of devices. Producing commercially viable AEMs enables the widespread deployment of fuel cell and electrolyzer systems by making the technology economically competitive with incumbent fossil fuel based energy sources. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to produce polymer electrolyte composites that meet the stringent performance criteria for a commercially viable AEM, including durability, hydroxide conductivity and mechanical strength under alkaline operating conditions. A proprietary polymer composition with unprecedented chemical stability will be incorporated into microporous polymer structural supports. Typically, cation percentage in AEMs must be kept low, otherwise the membranes swell excessively and deteriorate during operation. Incorporating polymers into structural supports permits increased cation concentration and ion exchange capacity (IEC), resulting in AEMs with high hydroxide conductivity. Furthermore, the mechanical strength of the composite is determined by the support and is not reduced by high IEC, like unsupported membranes. A polymerization method will be employed that allows fine control over cation concentration and the reaction can be conducted inside the support, simplifying composite fabrication. The combination of our unique polymer composition and a structural support that maximizes conductivity without losing mechanical strength, is a crucial milestone for the commercialization of our technology.