Morphological Studies on Polymer Electrolyte Membranes (PEMs) Used in Fuel Cells The Effects of Environmental Conditions on Structural Changes as Determined by FTIR Spectroscopy

Abstract

The overall goal is to explain in-bulk structural changes of Nafion, a perfluorinated Polymer Electrolyte Membranes (PEMs) employing Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis in Transmittance mode. FTIR spectra were collected on both pristine and degraded polymers. Due to the thickness of the majority of commercially available perfluorinated films, sample preparation for in-bulk analysis was required. Microsampling techniques were validated and applied to this polymer. Nafion displayed features for the extent of hydration by the sulfonate groups in the polymer.