Research Theme - 2
Development of Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Hydrogen Type Fuel Cells Using Electron Beams and g-rays
Hydrogen type fuel cell applications such as residential co-generation systems and automobiles requires higher operating temperature than those of direct methanol type fuel cell; therefore, the polymer electrolyte membranes must exhibit higher durability in the higher operating conditions. To improve thermal and chemical (oxidative) stability of PEM, we have been studying radiation grafting of new monomers which are more stable than styrene derivatives as well as novel chemical modification of the grafted polymer chains to introduce thermally and chemically stable sulfonic acid moiety.