Analysis of Promising Perfluorosulfonic Acid Membranes for Fuel‐Cell Electrolytes

Fuel cells offer means by which quiet, energy‐efficient, high‐power‐density processes can be achieved without the generation of unwanted emissions. The major obstacles to the realization of economical fuel cells are the high capital costs for the inert perfluorosulfonic acid (PSA) membranes and the noble‐metal catalysts. New PSA membranes have been developed and subsequently used to obtain higher fuel‐cell current and power densities. In this paper, we investigate the equilibrium and transport characteristics of promising PSA fuel‐cell electrolytes; electroanalytical and radiotracer techniques are employed. Particular emphasis is devoted to proposing membrane structural characteristics that can be used explain our experimental results and shed light on fuel‐cell‐performance data obtained with the different polymers.