FAMU-FSU Engineers Optimize PFSA Membranes for Energy Storage and Mineral Harvesting

Ever imagine that membranes from hydrogen fuel cells could double as lithium-fishing nets? That’s exactly the kind of out-of-the-box thinking brewing at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. On December 2025, Professor Daniel Hallinan Jr. and his crew dropped a bombshell: a quick boil can turn everyday PFSA polymer membranes—the backbone of proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks—into Swiss Army knives for all sorts of clean-energy tasks.

Pretreatment Perks and Trade-Offs

Since the 1960s, PFSA membranes like Nafion have been the go-to in fuel cell technology because they let protons slip through while keeping electrons and gases at bay. But Hallinan’s team, in Frontiers in Membrane Science and Technology, shows that a brief stint in boiling water rearranges those nano-channels inside. What you get is a big boost in water uptake and proton conductivity, though they give up a bit of selectivity. In plain English: they gulp more water and speed up ion flow, but you’ll see a few extra gate-crashers.

From Fuel Cells to Flow Batteries and Beyond

That tweak is a game-changer for next-gen gear. Youneng Tang and team found boiled PFSA can pull lithium out of salty brine—gold for EV battery makers—while Sebastian Castro and Dennis Ssekimpi are all about plugging these sheets into redox flow batteries and electrochemical CO₂-to-fuel reactors. By dialing the boil time and temp, you can chase either high-speed ion lanes or pinpoint accuracy.

Strategic Impact and Historical Roots

This work ties back to decades of experiments at FAMU-FSU and collabs with Oak Ridge National Lab. It builds on past forays into poly(arylene ether sulfone) blends for fuel cells and solid-state battery polymers—projects fueled by an NSF CREST grant and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory’s REU blitz. Now, with this fresh twist on PFSA, they’re eyeing bigger partnerships with DOE and DoD, tackling sustainable energy and industrial decarbonization head-on.

Looking Ahead

Scaling these supercharged membranes won’t be a walk in the park—cost hikes and keeping production uniform are real hurdles. But imagine modular sheets that switch from lithium harvesting to grid-scale storage and even green hydrogen production under one roof. It just goes to show: a little heat and a new perspective can spark major leaps in clean-tech, from hydrogen storage to advanced hydrogen fuel cells.

source: fsu.edu