How the Polymer Electrolyte Works

The different companies producing polymer electrolyte membranes have their own special tricks, mostly proprietary. However, a conunon theme is the nse of snlphonated fluoro-polymers, usually fluoroethylene. The most weU known and well established of these is Nafion ( Dupont), which has been developed throngh several variants since the 1960s. This material is still the electrolyte against which others are jndged, and is in a sense an industry standard . Other polymer electrolytes function in a similar way.  

The HSO3 group added is ionicaUy bonded, and so the end of the side chain is actually an S03 ion. For this reason, the resulting stmcture is called an ionomer. The result of 

From the point of view of fuel cell use, the main features of Nafion and other fluoro-sulphonate ionomers are that 

Water collects around the clusters of hydrophilic sulphonate side chains 

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