Polymer-electrolyte complexes thermal properties

Thermal and Conducting Properties of Polymer-LiC104 Mixtures. Plots of the conductivity, a, of homogeneous, transparent mixtures of LiCl04 PMMS-8 and PAGS-12 exhibit distinct maxima at ratios of ethylene oxide units to lithium (EO/Li of 20-25 (Figure 2). This behavior is typical for amorphous polymer electrolyte complexes (7, 8). An increase... 

Another approach extensively apphed in recerrt years to improve the ion conductivity ((, lithiirm ion transference number (C), mechanical properties, and the electrode-electrolyte interfacial stability of a polymer electrolyte is the addition of inorganic or ceramic fillers into the polymer-salt complexes (Capiglia et al., 1999 Kim et al., 2003 Chen-Yang et al., 2008 Croce et al., 2001 Rahman et al., 2009 Shen et al., 2009 Zhang et al., 2011 Munichandratah et al., 1995 Wiec-zorek, 1992). Micro and nano-sized inorganic filler such as silicone oxide (SiO ), alumina (AI2O3), ceria (CeO ), and so on are incorporated into PEO-salt complex in an effort to improve the mechanical, thermal stabihty, and ion conductivity of PEO-based polymer electrolytes. The effect of nano-fillers on the thermal properties of the PEO-based polymer complex varies with the type of nano-particles as well as the polymer-salt complex host matrix. 

Akey performance limitation in the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) originates from the multiple, coupled and competing, transport interactions in the constituent porous components. The suboptimal transport behavior resulting from the underlying complex and multifunctional microstmctures in the catalyst layer (CL), gas diffusion layer (GDL) and microporous layer (MPL) leads to water and thermal management issues and undesirable performance loss. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the profoimd influence of the disparate porous microstmctures on the transport characteristics. In this chapter, we highhght the stochastic microstmcture reconstmction technique and direct transport simulation in the CL, GDL and MPL porous stmctmes in order to estimate the effective transport properties and imderstand the microstmctural impact on the imderlying transport behavior in the PEFC. 

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