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Tripartisan Technology, a western New York Technology Company announced it is developing a thin film composite proton exchange membrane for the hydrogen fuel cell industry.
Composite membranes are membranes which consist of one or more layers within the membrane. In order for a hydrogen fuel cell membrane to work effectively, it must have high proton conductivity, good hydrolytic stability, have low humidity swelling, high electrical resistance, high temperature resistance, low fuel and oxidant permeability, and meet a host of other requirements. Since it is difficult for any one material to meet all these requirements, research into composite membranes has become more prevalent.
In a composite membrane, the different layers have different contributing functions. For instance, whereas most of the thickness of the composite membrane might be dedicated to high proton conductivity, a small portion of the thickness may be dedicated to maintaining structural integrity. Another small portion may be allocated to block the undesirable diffusion of fuel to the cathode, etc.
Tripartisan Technology is approaching the challenge of building a composite membrane from an ease of fabrication point of view. “Although the requirements for a PEM membrane are significant,” explains Tripartisan president Eric Arrington. “It still must be made in an inexpensive, scalable way. We think our technology is unique in being able to deliver the multifaceted requirements of a composite membrane at high speed, throughput, and ultimately, low cost.”
An active area of hydrogen and direct methanol fuel cell research is the work to reduce the cost of catalysts in the fuel cell. Currently, expensive platinum catalysts are often used for both the anode and the cathode of the device, however there is research work going on to separate out the various functions of the catalyst, using platinum for the anode side and other different catalysts for the cathode side. In this regard, the different sides of the membrane need to be optimized to work synergistically with the various catalysts in question, and the Tripartisan Technology approach is said to offer unique functionalities when considering this dimension of hydrogen and direct methanol fuel cell design.
For more information, please feel free to contact Mr. Arrington personally at
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