Method for Preparing a Polymer Membrane for a Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolyser

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This invention presents a new method for preparing polymer membranes used in polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers (PEWE). The core technique involves introducing a recombination catalyst, such as platinum, into the membrane using a special ion-exchange process, and then reducing it in-situ by exposing the membrane to hydrogen gas. This process allows the catalyst to be uniformly distributed throughout the membrane, effectively suppressing the crossover of hydrogen and oxygen gases between compartments while maintaining cell performance even in very thin membranes.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Hydrogen production using polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers (PEWE) for industrial and renewable energy applications.
• Electrolysis systems requiring thin membranes without sacrificing safety or efficiency.
• Electrochemical devices in which gas crossover suppression is critical, such as fuel cells.
• Production of high-purity hydrogen for power-to-gas and clean mobility applications.
• Water-splitting systems for coupling renewable electricity generation to chemical storage.

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Enables the use of thinner polymer electrolyte membranes, which increases efficiency and reduces costs.
• Significantly reduces the crossover of hydrogen and oxygen gases, improving safety and operational reliability.
• Maintains or even enhances the electrochemical cell’s performance compared to traditional membranes.
• Allows in-situ (on-the-fly) reduction of catalyst ions, simplifying the manufacturing process and avoiding additional chemical reduction steps.
• Ensures a homogeneous distribution of catalyst particles throughout the membrane, providing effective and consistent suppression of gas crossover.

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Patent Abstract

It is the objective of the present invention to provide a method for preparing a polymer membrane for a polymer electrolyte water electrolyser in order to achieve thin membranes with high crossover suppression and without showing a negative impact on the cell performance.This objective is achieved according to the present invention by a method to prepare an ionomer of an ion exchange membrane (anion or cation exchange) with a recombination catalyst to prevent gas crossover of species, such as hydrogen and/or oxygen, to anodic and cathodic cell compartments of an electrochemical cell; said method comprising the steps of:a) providing the ionomer as a proton or an anion exchange polymer;b) selecting the recombination catalyst from the precious metals group;c) providing the selected recombination catalyst in an ionic form being comprised in a liquid metal salt solution;d) immersing the ion exchange membrane into the liquid metal salt solution thereby exchanging at least a part of the ionic ionomer ports with the ionic form of the recombination catalyst;e) assembling the immersed ion exchange membrane in the electrochemical cell; andf) at least partially reducing the content of the ionic form of the recombination catalyst into the metallic form by forcing hydrogen to permeate through the ionomer of the ion exchange membrane.Therefore, the present invention presents a new reduction method for Pt-Ions by diffusing hydrogen through the PEM in a PEWE cell. The presented solution provides a way to achieve thin membranes with high crossover suppression, without a negative impact on the cell performance and a reduction insitu on the flight.