Membranes and Electrochemical Cells

Our mission is to create innovation in the area of polymer electrolyte materials for electrochemical applications, notably fuel cells, electrolysis cells, and redox flow cells. We aim to prepare polymers with desired functionalities for the respective application and operating conditions, using commercially available and low-cost materials (base films, monomers and additives) and industrially viable processing techniques. Furthermore, we develop dedicated diagnostic methods to study limitations in cell performance and aging of materials and components.

Gaia Membranes

Gaia Membranes is a PSI Spin-off. Efficient energy storage is at the centre of this vision. Amphion™ is an innovative membrane technology designed to maximise the efficiency of redox flow battery systems. Amphion™ membranes overcome the limitations of traditional cation and anion exchange membranes through an amphoteric technology that simultaneously enables high proton conductivity and superior ionic selectivity.

Contact:
- Elian Pusceddu, CEO
- Fabio Oldenburg, CTO

Expertise

Our synthetic strategy is based on the preparation and functionalization of polymer films via radiation-induced grafting to obtain membranes containing ionic sites. Activation of the base polymer film can be done using an electron beam (performed externally). For surface grafting, the film is activated in a plasma chamber. Activated films are stored in a fridge at a temperature of -80°C. For the grafting reaction, a wide range of vinyl monomers amenable to radical polymerization can be used, such as styrenes and acrylics. Post-treatment of grafted films may involve various chemical processing steps, such as sulfonation to introduce proton exchange sites.

The laboratory has a wide range of characterization methods for ex situ characterization of starting materials, intermediates and membranes: infrared and Raman spectroscopy for composition analysis, SEM-EDX, XPS, DSC/TGA, tensile testing machine, etc. The conductivity of membranes is measured using ac impedance spectroscopy (in-plane or through-plane). In addition, we have a well-equiped fuel cell test infrastructure with test benches for single cells up to stacks for 30 kW power output. We aim to understand component and cell performance characteristics and limitations thereof, in particular aging phenomena of membranes and electrodes under application-relevant or accelerated test conditions.

Water electrolysis plays a key role in future energy scenarios (power-to-gas). We study materials aspects of polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers with a few to increasing performance and efficiency and investigate mechanican and chemical aging phenomena of key cell components. Two custom-built test benches for cells of 25 cm2 active area can be operated up to a pressure of 20 bar. We can measure impedance spectra and monitor the purity of gases (in particular H₂ contamination in O₂) continuously.

Research Team

Lorenz Gubler, Head
Alexander Muroyama, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Tamás Németh, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Elena Zanzola, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Aaron Schneider, Lab Technician
Steffen Garbe, PhD Student
Tym De Wild, PhD Student
Jamie Duburg, PhD Student
Matteo Lecchi, Master Thesis Student (Politecnico di Milano)

Open Positions

PhD Position: Materials for Next-Generation Water Electrolysis

Furthermore, we have regular openings for student's projects in different areas: fuel cells, electrolyzers, redox flow cells on topics ranging from materials synthesis and characterization to test system design and implementation.

Projects

Project	Description	Duration	Contact
Industry	Projects funded by industrial partners, subject to confidentiality		Lorenz Gubler
RFBsep	Functional composite separator-membrane materials for redox flow batteries Swiss National Science Foundation	2020-2023	Lorenz Gubler
NF-Antiox17	Radical attack, antioxidants and polymer repair chemistry in hydrocarbon based fuel cell membranes Swiss National Science Foundation	2018-2021	Lorenz Gubler
ELYTEMP	Elevated temperature (90-95°C) polymer electrolyte water electrolysis for reduced cost of hydrogen for energy applications Swiss Federal Office of Energy	2018-2021	Lorenz Gubler
Bridge RFB	Functionalized separators enabling a break-through of redox flow batteries for stationary energy storage SNF Bridge	2018-2020	Lorenz Gubler

Recent Publications

A complete publication list can be found on Scopus.

Babic U, Tarik M, Schmidt TJ, Gubler L
Understanding the effects of material properties and operating conditions on component aging in polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers
Journal of Power Sources. 2020; 451: 227778 (8 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2020.227778
DORA PSI
Ben youcef H, Henkensmeier D, Balog S, Scherer GG, Gubler L
Copolymer synergistic coupling for chemical stability and improved gas barrier properties of a polymer electrolyte membrane for fuel cell applications
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2020; 45(11): 7059-7068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.12.208
DORA PSI
Gubler L, Vonlanthen D, Schneider A, Oldenburg FJ
Composite membranes containing a porous separator and a polybenzimidazole thin film for vanadium redox flow batteries
Journal of The Electrochemical Society. 2020; 167(10): 100502 (17 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/ab945f
DORA PSI
Muroyama AP, Pătru A, Gubler L
Review - CO₂ separation and transport via electrochemical methods
Journal of the Electrochemical Society. 2020; 167(13): 133504 (12 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1149/1945-7111/abbbb9
DORA PSI
Nolte TM, Nauser T, Gubler L
Attack of hydroxyl radicals to α-methyl-styrene sulfonate polymers and cerium-mediated repair via radical cations
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. 2020; 22(8): 4516-4525. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9CP05454E
DORA PSI
Nolte TM, Nauser T, Gubler L, Hendriks AJ, Peijnenburg WJGM
Thermochemical unification of molecular descriptors to predict radical hydrogen abstraction with low computational cost
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. 2020; 22(40): 23215-23225. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0CP03750H
DORA PSI
Babic U, Zlobinski M, Schmidt TJ, Boillat P, Gubler L
CO₂-assisted regeneration of a polymer electrolyte water electrolyzer contaminated with metal ion impurities
Journal of the Electrochemical Society. 2019; 166(10): F610-F619. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0851910jes
DORA PSI
Babic U, Nilsson E, Pătru A, Schmidt TJ, Gubler L
Proton transport in catalyst layers of a polymer electrolyte water electrolyzer: effect of the anode catalyst loading
Journal of the Electrochemical Society. 2019; 166(4): F214-F220. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0341904jes
DORA PSI
Erbach S, Pribyl B, Klages M, Spitthoff L, Borah K, Epple S, et al.
Influence of operating conditions on permeation of CO₂ through the membrane in an automotive PEMFC system
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. 2019; 44(25): 12760-12771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.10.033
DORA PSI
Garbe S, Babic U, Nilsson E, Schmidt TJ, Gubler L
Communication—Pt-doped thin membranes for gas crossover suppression in polymer electrolyte water electrolysis
Journal of the Electrochemical Society. 2019; 166(13): F873-F875. https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0111913jes
DORA PSI
Gubler L
Membranes and separators for redox flow batteries
Current Opinion in Electrochemistry. 2019; 18: 31-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coelec.2019.08.007
DORA PSI
Oldenburg FJ, Ouarga A, Schmidt TJ, Gubler L
Accelerated stress test method for the assessment of membrane lifetime in vanadium redox flow batteries
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. 2019; 11(51): 47917-47928. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.9b15736
DORA PSI
Oldenburg FJ, Nilsson E, Schmidt TJ, Gubler L
Tackling capacity fading in vanadium redox flow batteries with amphoteric polybenzimidazole/nafion bilayer membranes
ChemSusChem. 2019; 12(12): 2620-2627. https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201900546
DORA PSI

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