TiO2-Si- or SrTiO3-Si-impregnated PVA–based low-cost proton exchange membranes for application in microbial fuel cell

The direct borohydride fuel cell (DBFC) is a low-temperature fuel cell that requires the development of affordable price and efficient proton exchange membranes for commercial purposes. In this context, super-acidic sulfated zirconia (SO4ZrO2) was embedded into a cheap and environmentally friendly binary polymer blend, developed from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and iota carrageenan (IC). The percentage of SO4ZrO2 ranged between 1 and 7.5 wt.% in the polymeric matrix. The study findings revealed that the composite membranes’ physicochemical features improved by adding increasing amounts of SO4ZrO2. In addition, there was a decrease in the permeability and swelling ratio of the borohydride membranes as the SO4ZrO2 weight% increased. Interestingly, the power density increased to 76 mW cm−2 at 150 mA cm−2, with 7.5 wt.% SO4ZrO2, which is very close to that of Nafion117 (91 mW cm−2). This apparent selectivity, combined with the low cost of the eco-friendly fabricated membranes, points out that DBFC has promising future applications.

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Simultaneous Congo red decolorization and electricity generation in air-cathode single-chamber microbial fuel cell with different microfiltration, ultrafiltration and proton exchange membranes

Bioresource Technology ◽

10.1016/j.biortech.2010.12.092 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 102 (6) ◽

pp. 4433-4438 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Bin Hou ◽

Jian Sun ◽

Yong-you Hu

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Microbial Fuel Cell ◽

Congo Red ◽

Electricity Generation ◽

Proton Exchange Membranes ◽

Proton Exchange ◽

Air Cathode ◽

Single Chamber

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DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLY(OXY-1,4-PHENYLENESULFONYL-1,4-PHENYLENE) FOR PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANES

Istrazivanja i projektovanja za privredu ◽

10.5937/jaes0-30227 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

ANDRÉS PACHECO LANCHEROS ◽

AURA LOMBANA PUERTA ◽

ÁLVARO REALPE JIMÉNEZ ◽

DINA MENDOZA BELTRAN ◽

MARÍA TERESA ACEVEDO MORANTES

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Contact Angle ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Water Absorption ◽

High Performance ◽

Low Cost ◽

Proton Exchange Membranes ◽

Proton Exchange ◽

Cell Technology

Proton Exchange Membranes (PEMs) are materials developed with a focus on high-performance, low-cost features to achieve promising fuel cell technology in stationary, portable, and transportation facilities. In this study, we synthesized membranes from Poly (oxy-1,4-phenylenesulfonyl-1,4-phenylene) (PES) sulfonated with modification by adding nanoclay to improve the mechanical properties of PEMs. The sulfonation time and the concentration of nanoclays directly favored properties such as contact angle, water absorption, porosity, and mechanical properties. However, a higher concentration of nanoclays (e.g., 10% by weight) damages the mechanical properties of PES membranes specifically. The membrane with 5% by weight of nanoclay and a sulfonation time of 2 h achieved the best performance.

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