Polysiloxane Based Membranes For High Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (Ht-Pemfc)

Membranes with benzimidazole as proton conducting group and siloxanes as backbone were prepared by cross-linking siloxane monomers. The influence of additional amounts of silanol terminated linear polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) on glass transition temperature and proton conductivity under anhydrous conditions were investigated. The new membrane materials possess high thermal stabilities up to 286 degrees C and exhibit proton conductivities up to 2 x 10(-4) S/cm at 160 degrees C.