US 12,255,369 B2
Zipped ion-exchange membrane
Chiara Gambaro, Novara (IT); Laura Meda, Novara (IT); Vito Di Noto, Cadoneghe (IT); Keti Vezzu', Padua (IT); and Chuanyu Sun, Padua (IT)
Assigned to ENI S.P.A., Rome (IT)
Appl. No. 17/632,102
Filed by ENI S.P.A., Rome (IT)
PCT Filed Jul. 30, 2020, PCT No. PCT/IB2020/057217
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Feb. 1, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/019497, PCT Pub. Date Feb. 4, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 102019000013734 (IT), filed on Aug. 1, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0278346 A1, Sep. 1, 2022
Int. Cl. H01M 8/1044 (2016.01); H01M 8/1023 (2016.01); H01M 8/1025 (2016.01); H01M 8/1039 (2016.01); H01M 8/1051 (2016.01); H01M 8/1081 (2016.01); H01M 8/1086 (2016.01); H01M 8/1016 (2016.01)
CPC H01M 8/1044 (2013.01) [H01M 8/1023 (2013.01); H01M 8/1025 (2013.01); H01M 8/1039 (2013.01); H01M 8/1051 (2013.01); H01M 8/1081 (2013.01); H01M 8/109 (2013.01); H01M 8/1093 (2013.01); H01M 8/1016 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A zipped ion-exchange membrane (Z-IEM) comprising at least one cation-exchange polyelectrolyte (CEP) crosslinked with at least one anion-exchange polyelectrolyte (AEP), wherein the CEP has a molar fraction of positive charges (x) so that:
(i) when x=0.5, the Z-IEM is a completely neutralized IEM;
(ii) when x>0.5, the Z-IEM is a cation-conducting IEM; and
(iii) when x<0.5, the Z-IEM is an anion-conducting IEM
wherein said zipped ion-exchange membrane is a membrane having a molecular structure wherein a first macromolecular chain bearing positive charges is coupled to a second macromolecular chain bearing negative charges, the coupling being given by electrostatic interaction between opposite charges facing each other; and wherein throughout the Z-IEM, neighboring acceptor functional groups bearing positive charges found on AEPs interact with neighboring electron donor functional groups bearing negative charges found on CEPs so that in the Z-IEM the backbone chains of each AEP-CEP interacting system run substantially parallel to one another at the interface in a zip-zone, wherein ordered arrays of donor-acceptor bonds are formed.