Nanostructured Ion-Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cells: Recent Advances and Perspectives.
Polymer-based materials with tunable nanoscale structures and associated microenvironments hold great promise as next-generation ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) for acid or alkaline fuel cells. Understanding the relationships between nanostructure, physical and chemical microenvironment, and ion-transport properties are critical to the rational design and development of IEMs. These matters are addressed here by discussing representative and important advances since 2011, with particular emphasis on aromatic-polymer-based nanostructured IEMs, which are broadly divided into nanostructured polymer membranes and nanostructured polymer-filler composite membranes. For each category of membrane, the core factors that influence the physical and chemical microenvironments of the ion nanochannels are summarized. In addition, a brief perspective on the possible future directions of nanostructured IEMs is presented.
Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China.|Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
Guangwei
G
He
Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China.|Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
Zhen
Z
Li
Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China.|Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
Jing
J
Zhao
Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China.|Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
Shaofei
S
Wang
Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China.|Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
Hong
H
Wu
Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China.|State Key Laboratory of Engines, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
Michael D
MD
Guiver
Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin, 300072, China.|Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
Zhongyi
Z
Jiang
fuel cells; ion-exchange membranes; microenvironments; nanostructure; structure-property relationships