KES6-1158
Ion-Conducting Polymers: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications for Clean Energy Technologies
Topic
S6. Emerging Polymer and Hybrid Materials for Advanced Energy Storage and Conversion
When and Where
Sep 29, 2026
11:15 - 11:40
Room 311 & 312
Session Chairs
Jai Hyun KOH
Presenter(s)
Chulsung Bae (RPI)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Ion-conducting polymers (H+ or OH-) are used as polymer electrolyte membranes and ionomer binders of catalyst layers, and they are a key component of electrochemical energy conversion and storage technologies such as fuel cells and electrolyzers. Currently, most electrochemical energy conversion technologies (e.g., hydrogen fuel cell, water electrolyzer, redox flow battery) heavily relies on Nafion for a proton-conducting material, though it is not ideal material for those applications.
Perfluoroalkyl substrates (PFASs), which include Nafion, have recently received significant pressure from government and environmental activist groups due to their environmental and health hazard of PFAS. Thus, the development of alternative ion-conducting polymers based on hydrocarbon polymers (mostly made of C and H) has attracted new attention within polymer society. Compared to perfluorosulfonated Nafion, hydrocarbon ion-conducting polymers can offer advantages of flexible synthetic tunability, lower gas permeability, and importantly lower production cost. However, their systematic polymer chemistry–morphology structure–property relationships are poorly understood until now. In this presentation, an overview of recent progress in the development of advanced ion-conducting polymers (both H+ and OH–), key material properties, and their state-of-the-art performance in in real world applications of hydrogen technologies will be presented.
Perfluoroalkyl substrates (PFASs), which include Nafion, have recently received significant pressure from government and environmental activist groups due to their environmental and health hazard of PFAS. Thus, the development of alternative ion-conducting polymers based on hydrocarbon polymers (mostly made of C and H) has attracted new attention within polymer society. Compared to perfluorosulfonated Nafion, hydrocarbon ion-conducting polymers can offer advantages of flexible synthetic tunability, lower gas permeability, and importantly lower production cost. However, their systematic polymer chemistry–morphology structure–property relationships are poorly understood until now. In this presentation, an overview of recent progress in the development of advanced ion-conducting polymers (both H+ and OH–), key material properties, and their state-of-the-art performance in in real world applications of hydrogen technologies will be presented.
