Polybenzimidazole Membranes as Nafion Replacement in Aqueous HCl Electrolyzers

• DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.3c00522
• Publication Date: 2023-05-03T15:13:10Z
• Authors: Kris Likit-anurak; Ishwor Karki; Ben I. Howard; Laura Murdock; Nikolai Mukhin; Jamie Brannon; Aubrey Hepstall; Bridgett Young; Sirivatch Shimpalee; Brian Benicewicz; Benjamin Meekins
• Keywords: Nafion

We demonstrate the use of para-polybenzimidazole (PBI) membranes as replacements for Nafion in aqueous HCl oxygen-depolarized electrolyzers. Both para-PBI and densified reduce cell voltage needed at 0.5 A cm–2 by ≥100 mV. examine effect HCl(aq) flow rate, back-pressure, electrolyzer temperature, and, membranes, H3PO4 swell time on performance. Increased proton conductivity, measured reduced area-specific membrane resistance, is identified primary mechanism to explain improved performance electrolyzer.