Conductivity Fuel cell Membrane

a b s t r a c t In the highly competitive market of fuel cells, proton exchange membrane fuel cells operating in the range of 80–150 1C seem quite promising. One of the main hurdles for the emergence of such a technology is the development of phosphonic acid-based membranes characterized by high conductivity and stability beyond 80 1C. In this work, plasma polymers containing phosphonic acid groups have been successfully prepared using dimethyl allylphosphonate as a single precursor. Structural and transport properties of plasma polymers are logically correlated with the plasma discharge power. Under optimized plasma conditions, plasma films are thermally stable up to 150 1C and present the highest growth rate, concentration of ion exchange groups and proton conductivity, which make them competitive as membranes for fuel cells. & 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1