A80-Anion Exchange Membrane For Electrolyzer

Specification

PiperlON 80 micrometers thick self-supporting anion exchange membrane sheets are currently offered in 5x5cm, 10x10cm and 15x15 sizes.

PiperlON self-supporting AEMs are manufactured solely from the functionalized poly(aryl piperidinium) resin material and there is no mechanical reinforcement in them.Having the entire membrane manufactured from 100% resin material makes this membrane category to have higher ionic conductivity compared to mechanically reinforcedPiperlON AEM counterparts. In terms of mechanical robustness, mechanically reinforced PiperlON AEMs would provide higher performance compared to self-supportingPiperlON AEM counterparts.

PiperlON AEMs are manufactured from the functionalized poly(aryl piperidinium) polymer. The general chemical structure of the poly(aryl piperidinium) resin material isprovided below.

Benefits of Self-Supporting PiperlON AEMS:

-Non-reinforced and high anionic conductivity

-Excellent chemical stability in caustic and acidic environments (pH range of 1-14)

-Ultra-thin membranes with superb performance for various alkaline fuel cell, alkaline electrolyzer, direct ammonia fuel cells, and other relevant electrochemical technologies

Typical Properties of the Self-Supporting PiperlON AEMs ("):

"Some of the important properties of PiperlON membranes are provided in the table are for reference and example purposes only.

Pre-treatment protocol:

PiperlON membranes are shipped in the non-hydroxide form (more specifically in the bicarbonate form) and the proper pretreatment protocol needs to be followed in order toconvert it to the desired anionic form.

For standard alkaline fuel cell / electrolysis applications:

Allow the membrane to sit at ambient conditions for 1 hr without a cover sheet before use.

For hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cell or hydroxide exchange electrolysis applications or any other application that requires the hydroxide ion transfer across themembrane, the membrane should be converted from bicarbonate form into OH- form for optimal conductivity.

To convert the membrane to OH- form, place the membrane in an aqueous solution of 0.5 M NaOH or KOH for 1 h at room temperature. After 1 h, replace the solution withfresh 0.5 M NaOH or KOH and allow the membrane to soak for 1 h at room temperature again. After the two soaks, rinse the membrane with DI water (pH - 7). Minimizeexposure to ambient air, as the CO2 can exchange back into the membrane causing the membrane to convert back to bicarbonate form. The reaction between CO2 andhydroxide ions is purely chemical and it will readily happen if the OH- form of the membrane is exposed to an environment that has CO2 (such as ambient air, etc.). Thisconversion can be completely eliminated by simply doing the conversion and testing in a CO2-free drybox environment.

For electrochemical reduction of CO2 or CO or in CO2 electrolysis applications:

Allow the membrane to sit at ambient conditions for 1 hr without a cover sheet before use.

The PiperlON membrane is shipped in the bicarbonate form. If you are working with bicarbonate electrolytes in your setup, then there is no need to pretreat the membraneand it can be used in the as received form.

If you are working with carbonate electrolytes, then the Piperlon membrane needs to be converted to carbonate form. In order to achieve this, simply submerge themembrane in an aqueous solution of 0.1 - 0.5 M sodium carbonate or potassium carbonate for 12 h at room temperature. After then, replace the solution with fresh 0.1- 0.5 Msodium carbonate or potassium carbonate and allow the membrane to soak for 12 h at room temperature again. After the two-three soaks, rinse the membrane with DI water(pH - 7).

Instead of bicarbonate or carbonate electrolytes, if you are using KOH or NaOH type pure alkaline electrolytes in your CO2 reduction experiments, then you can simply followthe "For standard alkaline fuel cell / electrolysis applications" protocol for converting the membrane to OH- form.

For other electrochemical (electrodialysis, desalination, electro-electrodialysis, reverse electrodialysis, acid recovery, salt splitting, etc.) and non-electrochemical applications:

Allow the membrane to sit at ambient conditions for 1 hr without a cover sheet before use.

Prior to the assembly of the membrane into the electrochemical device or setup, the membrane should be converted into the anionic form that is relevant for the intendedapplication. For example, if the application is requiring the CI- anions to be transferred through the membrane, then this anion exchange membrane needs to be convertedinto the Cl- form. In order to convert this membrane into CI- form, it needs to be submerged into a 0.1 to 0.5 M salt solution of NaCl or KCl (dissolved in deionized water) for aperiod of 12-24 hours and then rinsed with deionized water to remove the excess salt from the membrane surface. Or if the intended application is requiring to transfer sulfateanions across the membrane, then PiperlON AEM needs to be converted into the sulfate form prior to its assembly into the cell. A neutral salt solution of 0.1 to 0.5M Na2504 orK2S04 would usually be sufficient to achieve the ful conversion of membrane into the sulfate form after fully submerging the membrane into the salt solution for 12-24 hoursat room temperature. It is always suggested to repeat the submersion process for 2-3 times in order to achieve close to 100% conversion and then rinse it with copious amountof deionized water.

If you have any concerns about storage, chemical stability, pre-treatment or before proceeding, please feel free to contact us for further information.

Scientific Literature for Various Use of PiperlON Membranes and Dispersion Products:

The article by Wang et al. entitled "Poly(aryl piperidinium) membranes and ionomers for hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells" is considered to be an excellent source thatdescribes the polymer chemistry and fuel cell operation of PiperlON membranes with hydrogen and CO2-free air reactants at a temperature of 95 °C. This article alsoinvestigates the ionic conductivity, chemical stability, mechanical robustness, gas separation, and selective solubility aspects of poly(aryl piperidinium) based AEMs.

The article by Wang et al. entitled "High-Performance Hydroxide Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells THrough Optimization of Relative Humidity, Backpressure, and CatalystSelection" is considered to be an excellent source that describes the polymer chemistry and fuel cell operation of PiperlON membranes under different operationalparameters in order to eliminate the anode flooding and cathode drying out issues in order to achieve a blanced water management. With further optimization on the catalyst,a peak power density of 1.89 W/cm2 in H2/02 and 1.31 W/cm2 in H2/Air have been achieved.

The article by Luo et al. entitled "Structure-Transport Relationships of Poly(aryl piperidinium) Anion-Exchange Membranes: Effect of Anions and Hydration" is considered to bean excellent source that describes the transfer of different anions across AEMs that are manufactured from poly(aryl piperidinium) resin. Nanostructure, hydration or wateruptake as a function of the counter anion, phase-separation in regars of its polymer morphology, anion conductivity as a function of water content (vapor or liquid) and anionradius are some of the other aspects that have been discussed in this publication.

The article by Zhao et al. entitled "An Efficient Direct Ammonia Fuel Cell for Affordable Carbon-Neutral Transportation" is considered to be an excellent source that describeseconomics of hydrogen, methanol, and ammonia as fuel for transportation applications, performance of poly(aryl piperidinium) based AEMs for direct ammonia fuel cell at 80°C.

The article by Archrai et al. entitled "A Direct Ammonia Fuel Cel with a KOH-Free Anode Feed Generating 180 mW cm-2 at 120 °C" investigates the electrochemical performanceof poly(aryl piperidinium) based AEMs for direct ammonia fuel cell at 120°C.

The article by Endrodi et al. entitled "High carbonate ion conductance of a robust PiperlON membrane allows industrial current density and conversion in a zero-gap carbondioxide electrolyzer cel" investigates the electrochemical performance of poly(aryl piperidinium) based AEMs for electrochemical reduction of CO2 or carbon dioxideelectrolyzer applications. This study demonstrated that partial current densities of greater than 1 A/cm2 can be achieved while maintaining high conversion (25-40%),selectivity (up to 90%), and low cel voltage (2.6-3.4 V).

Electrochemical performance of anion exchange membranes would usually depend on the design of the electrochemical testing hardware, operational parameters,membrane thickness, catalyst loading and type, gas diffusion layer thickness and type, the way the MEA/CCM manufactured and assembled, etc. SCI Materials Hub does notprovide any warranties or guarantees for the performances obtained by other researchers.