POLYMER ELECTROLYTE MEMBRANE FUEL CELLS WITH IMPROVED PERFORMANCE

摘要

The present invention relates to a polymer electrolyte membrane having high durability and improved proton conductivity which is formed by providing an ETFE polymer base film having a thickness of 10-30 μm and treating the same with low dose γ-ray irradiation, grafting the ETFE film with 4VP in the presence of n-propanol followed by acid doping of the resulting polymer with phosphoric acid. The invention also pertains to a novel method of operating a PEM fuel cell comprising the aforesaid membrane at a temperature ranging from 80-130°C.