Li-Nafion Membrane Plasticised with Ethylene Carbonate/Sulfolane: Influence of Mixing Temperature on the Physicochemical Properties.

The use of dipolar aprotic solvents to swell lithiated Nafion ionomer membranes simultaneously serving as electrolyte and separator is of great interest for lithium battery applications. This work attempts to gain an insight into the physicochemical nature of a Li-Nafion ionomer material whose phase-separated nanostructure has been enhanced with a binary plasticiser comprising non-volatile high-boiling ethylene carbonate (EC) and sulfolane (SL). Gravimetric studies evaluating the influence both of mixing temperature (25 to 80 °C) and plasticiser composition (EC/SL ratio) on the solvent uptake of Li-Nafion revealed a hysteresis between heating and cooling modes.

A Composite Membrane Based on Sulfonated Polystyrene Implanted in a Stretched PTFE Film for Vanadium Flow Batteries.

The quality of ion-selective membranes determines the efficiency of Vanadium Flow Batteries (VFBs), and alternatives to expensive Nafion™ materials are actively being searched for. One of the membrane architecture approaches is to imitate the Nafion™ structure with two separate phases: a conductive sulfonated polymer and an inner matrix. We introduce a new composite material based on sulfonated styrene polymerized inside the pores of a stretched PTFE matrix.