The invention relates to polymers comprising sulfonated 2,6-diphenyl-1,4-phenylene oxide repeating units, to a method for their preparation, and to their use in a membrane electrode assembly, in a proton exchange membrane, in a fuel cell, in an electrolyser, in an electrolytic hydrogen compressor or in a flow battery. The invention further relates to a proton exchange membrane comprising said polymer and to a method for the preparation of a proton exchange membrane from said polymer. The invention also relates to the use of the polymers in ion exchange materials.

The invention relates to polymers comprising sulfonated 2,6-diphenyl-1,4-phenylene oxide repeating units, to a method for their preparation, and to their use in a membrane electrode assembly, in a proton exchange membrane, in a fuel cell, in an electrolyser, in an electrolytic hydrogen compressor or in a flow battery. The invention further relates to a proton exchange membrane comprising said polymer and to a method for the preparation of a proton exchange membrane from said polymer. The invention also relates to the use of the polymers in ion exchange materials.

The polymer electrolyte membrane includes: a first ion conductive polymer layer; and a second ion conductive polymer layer disposed on at least one surface of the first ion conductive polymer layer, wherein the first ion conductive polymer layer comprises a first ion conductive polymer comprising a sulfonic acid group, wherein the second ion conductive polymer layer comprises a second ion conductive polymer comprising a carboxylic acid group, and wherein a thickness of the second ion conductive polymer layer is in a range of 1% to 80% of a thickness of the polymer electrolyte membrane. Further, disclosed are the method for preparing the same, the membrane-electrode assembly including the same, and the fuel cell including the same.

A separation membrane for a redox flow battery includes: a protective film formed on each of both surfaces of a sheet substrate along with pores, the sheet substrate having thereon a number of pores communicating between the both surfaces; and an ion-exchange membrane adhered to the protective film, the ion-exchange membrane having a matrix formed of an ion-exchange resin dispersed therein with an inorganic porous powdery body attached with the ion-exchange resin obtained as a result of sulfonating rosin.

A separation membrane for a redox flow battery includes: a protective film formed on each of both surfaces of a sheet substrate along with pores, the sheet substrate having thereon a number of pores communicating between the both surfaces; and an ion-exchange membrane adhered to the protective film, the ion-exchange membrane having a matrix formed of an ion-exchange resin dispersed therein with an inorganic porous powdery body attached with the ion-exchange resin obtained as a result of sulfonating rosin.

A composite proton conductive membrane, comprising an inorganic filler having covalently bonded acidic functional groups and a high surface area of at least 150 m.sup.2/g; and a water insoluble ionically conductive polymer. This membrane provides advantages over traditional polymeric proton conductive membranes for redox flow battery, fuel cell, and electrolysis applications include: 1) enhanced proton conductivity/permeance due to the formation of additional nanochannels for proton conducting; 2) improved proton/electrolyte selectivity for redox flow battery application; 3) reduced membrane swelling and gas or electrolyte crossover; 4) improved chemical stability; 5) increased cell operation time with stable performance, and 6) reduced membrane cost.

A proton exchange membrane includes a porous structural framework and a boron-based acid group bonded to the porous structural framework. The porous structural framework may be formed of an amorphous or crystalline inorganic material and/or a synthetic or natural polymer. The boron-based acid group may be a tetravalent boric acid derivative, such as a cyclic boric acid derivative, borospiranic acid, or a borospiranic acid derivative. The boron-based acid group may be the reaction product of boric acid or a boric acid derivative and a poly-hydroxy compound.

A storage module of distributed flow battery is provided. An electrochemical reaction is processed with the positive and negative electrolytes to produce and/or discharge direct current and further output the positive and negative electrolytes after the reaction. The module comprises two end plates; two frames disposed between the two end plates; two current collectors disposed between the two frames; two complex cast polar plates disposed between the two current collectors; two electrodes disposed between the two complex cast polar plates; a membrane disposed between the two electrodes; and three gaskets. Therein, two of the gaskets are set to sandwich and enclose one of the two complex cast polar plates; and the other one of the gaskets is set between the other one of the two complex cast polar plates and an adjacent one of the current collectors.

The current disclosure teaches one to achieve PBI membranes with high ionic conductivity and low mechanical creep for the first time. This is in contrast to previous teachings of PBI membrane fabrication methods, which yield PBIs with either high ionic conductivity and high mechanical creep or low ionic conductivity and low mechanical creep. The membranes produced according to the disclosed process provide doped membranes for applications in fuel cells and electrolysis devices such as electrochemical separation devices.

The electrochemical energy conversion system include an anode, a cathode, and a proton exchange membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode. The proton exchange membrane includes a polymer having a hard block polymer, a soft block polymer, and one or more hydrophilic functional groups attached to the soft block polymer. The glass transition temperature of the hard block polymer is higher than a glass transition temperature of the soft block polymer, such that the hard block polymer is non-elastic and the soft block polymer is elastic at a desired operating temperature. The hydrophilic functional groups are attached to the soft block polymer via a thiol-ene reaction to modify double bonds in the soft block polymer. The swellable functional groups are selectively connected to the soft domains of the block copolymers, so that when the membrane swells (under hydration or gas adsorption), the stress is effectively absorbed by the soft domain and the impact on overall mechanical properties is minor, resulting in more durable membranes.