High-Performance Fluorine-Lean Thin Aromatic Hydrocarbon Membranes Based on Polyvinylidene Fluoride for Hydrogen Fuel Cells

The impeding ban on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) prompted researchers to focus on hydrocarbon-based materials as constituents of next-generation proton exchange membranes (PEMs) for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Here, we report on the fuel cell performance and durability of fluorine-lean PEMs prepared by the post-sulfonation of co-grafted α-methylstyrene (AMS) and 2-methylene glutaronitrile (MGN) monomers into preirradiated 12 µm polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) base film. The membranes were subjected to two distinctly different accelerated stress test (AST) protocols performed at open-circuit voltage (OCV): the US Department of Energy-similar chemical AST (90 °C, 30% relative humidity (RH), H₂/air, 1 bar_a), developed originally for perfluoroalkylsulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes, and the high relative humidity AST (80 °C, 100% RH, H₂/O₂, 2.5 bar_a), designed for aromatic hydrocarbon membranes. We found that doping the grafted membranes with a metalated porphyrin antioxidant can simultaneously reduce membrane aging and improve fuel cell performance.