A proton exchange (Nafion-117), a cation exchange (Ultrex CMI7000), an anion exchange (Fumasep FAD), and a bipolar (FumasepFBM) membrane have been studied to evaluate the principle suitability of ion exchange membranes as separators between the anode and the cathode compartment of biological fuel cells. The applicability of these membranes is severely affected by the neutral pH, and the usually...

Polymer membranes used in separation applications exhibit a tradeoff between permeability and selectivity. That is, that are highly permeable tend to have low selectivity vice versa. For ion-exchange such as electrodialysis reverse electrodialysis, this is expressed terms of membrane permselectivity (i.e., ability selectively permeate counter-ions over co-ions) ionic conductivity transport ions...

Tunable alkaline anion-exchange membranes based on QPMBV are synthesized using a bottom-up approach, miniemulsion copolymerization, which can incorporate functional groups into the copolymers with designated composition and high molecular weight. The mechanical and electrochemical properties of the obtained QPMBV membranes are tuned by varying the composition. It is found that the ion exchange ...

Direct borohydride fuel cells (DBFC), which operate on sodium borohydride (NaBH4) as the fuel, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the oxidant, are receiving increasing attention. This is due to their promising use as power sources for space and underwater applications, where air is not available and gas storage poses obvious problems. One key factor to improve the performance of DBFCs concerns the...

The description of transport phenomena in biological membranes is still unclear from the viewpoint of physical chemistry. Transport phenomena in ion exchange membranes can be controlled by several factors such as ionic concentration within the membrane, fixed charge concentration, solution composition, ionic fluxes, and water content. The ionic transport as well as distinctive selectivity is pr...

A LiMn(2)O(4) cathode lithium-ion battery using lithiated ion exchange membranes swollen with organic non-aqueous solvent as the electrolyte to overcome capacity fading at high temperature is first demonstrated, and shows very good capacity retention compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries using liquid electrolyte.