New radiation grafted and sulfonated membranes for PEM fuel cell

New PFA-g-polystyrene sulfonic acid membranes were prepared by radiation-induced graft copolymerization of styrene onto poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-hexafluoropropylene), (PFA) film followed by sulfonation reaction. The properties of these membranes were found to be controlled by variation of the amount of polystyrene grafted therein when it is subsequently sulfonated i.e the degree of grafting. The membranes were found to have a good combination of water uptake and ion exchange capacity. Moreover, their proton conductivities are in the same order of magnitude (10-2 ?-1cm-1) of Nafion 117 membranes. The preliminary results of the performance of these membranes in PEM fuel cell were found to be promising. However further testing has to be carried out to encourage the use of these membranes for the future development of alternative low cost proton exchange membranes