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Results for “Diels–Alder poly(phenylene)”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Sulfonated Diels–Alder Poly(Phenylene)s in Membrane Electrode Assemblies for Fuel Cells

The transition to environmentally sustainable materials in fuel cells requires alternatives to persistent polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) like Nafion. This study investigates the performance-limiting factors of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) utilizing sulfonated Diels–Alder poly(phenylene)s (sDAPPs) as PFAS-free polymer electrolytes. Among the configurations evaluated, the greatest performance loss occurred when sDAPP is used as the cathode binder, primarily due to phenyl group adsorption on catalyst surfaces, which reduces oxygen reduction reaction activity and impedes oxygen transport. Additional performance degradation arises from membrane-electrode interfacial incompatibility and insufficient ionomer hydrophobicity. By addressing ionomer adsorption and improving interfacial contact, an sDAPP-based cathode achieved a current density of 1.57 A cm −2 at 0.6 V under fully humidified H 2 /air conditions at 80 °C and 150 kPa abs . These results offer key insights for advancing high-performance, PFAS-free fuel cell technologies.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

Durable and Highly Selective Ion Transport of a Sulfonated Diels Alder Poly(phenylene) for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries

In order to improve the durability and ion selectivity of a hydrocarbon membrane for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) a polymer was rationally designed with an external hydrophobic shell and internal hydrophilic core. The polymer was designed to prevent hydrophilic polymer chain aggregation by functionalizing the external polymer shell with hydrophobic side chains and attaching acid moieties onto the polymer backbone. The hydrophobic shell is the result of pentafluorobenzoyl group functionalization on the pendent aryl rings in a Diels Alder poly(phenylene) backbone. The internal polymer chain contains sulfonic acid moieties to impart hydrophilic character. The physical and electrochemical characteristics of the membrane were systematically studied and compared with widely used Nafion-212. The synthesized membranes were found to be superior to Nafion-212 not only in terms of lower vanadium ion permeability (4.25 x 10 -8 vs. Nafion-212: 6.0 x 10 -6 cm 2 min -1 ) but also in higher VRFB performance (EE = 89% and vs. Nafion-212: 85.5% at 40 mA/cm 2 ). The membrane also showed over three times higher capacity retention than Nafion-212 (0.075 % vs. 0.25 % capacity loss per cycle respectively) and excellent ex situ and in situ chemical stability.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Ion-selective membrane for redox flow batteries

A fluoro sulfonated poly(phenylene) was rationally designed with an external hydrophobic shell and internal hydrophilic core in order to improve the durability and ion selectivity of a hydrocarbon membrane for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). The polymer was designed to prevent hydrophilic polymer chain aggregation by attaching acid moieties onto the polymer backbone, while functionalizing the external polymer shell with hydrophobic side chains to prevent excessive vanadium crossover associated with cation exchange membranes. As an example, the hydrophobic shell can be provided by pentafluorobenzoyl group functionalization of the pendent aryl groups on a Diels Alder poly(phenylene) backbone, while the internal polymer chain can contain sulfonic acid moieties to impart hydrophilic character.

Fujimoto, Cy↗