Reinforcing Nafion^® with Poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride) as Water-Absorbing and Film-Forming Polymer

To overcome the shortcomings of Nafion^®, we attempted to reinforce it with a suitable material according to our purpose. The extraordinary ability of poly(ethylene-alt-maleic anhydride) (PEaMA) to form a gel in water and to yield films having high tensile and cohesive strength from aqueous or organic solutions make it a good candidate as a reinforcing agent for Nafion^®. Introduction of PEaMA into Nafion^® created micropores, as verified by field-emission scanning electron microscopy; these pores absorb a large quantity of aqueous solution and are used to achieve a high water uptake, resulting in a high-proton-conductivity membrane. These performance results, paired with a low-cost synthesis approach, demonstrate that the new membrane can be used in proton exchange membrane fuel cells.