Partially sulfonated polyaniline induced high ion-exchange capacity and selectivity of Nafion membrane for application in direct methanol fuel cells

The performances of direct methanol fuel cells are largely dependent on the methanol crossover, while the amount of methanol crossover is reported to strongly rely on membrane materials and thickness. In this research, two new membranes (Nafion 211 and Nx-424), along with well-known Nafion 117 and 112 were studied as electrolytes in the direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). The Nafion 211 is the thinnest and latest membrane of Nafion series products and Nx-424 is a Nafion membrane with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fibers as mechanical reinforcement. Nx-424 is used primarily for chloro-alkali production and the electrolytic processes. Although open circuit voltage provides a quick way to evaluate the effect of methanol crossover, the amount of methanol crossover through the membranes was studied in detail via the electrochemical oxidation technique. Both methods show the same trend of methanol crossover of different membranes in this study. Nafion 211 was found to present the highest degree of methanol crossover, however, its’ best performance implied the fact that the influence of the cell resistance (membrane thickness) is dominated in the traditional Nafion system. Although Nafion membrane with thicker thickness and PTFE fiber within Nx-424 provided higher resistance for methanol to cross through, the negative effects of its’ hydrophobic properties also prevent the transport of H2O accompanied by the proton. Therefore, the cell performance of Nx-424 is lower both due to poor proton conductivity and thickest membrane. In other words, the cell performances of traditional Nafion series membranes (Nafion 211, 112, 117) were fully controlled by the thickness while Nx-424 was controlled both by its’ blend properties (hydrophilic-Nafion and hydrophobic-PTFE ) and thickness.

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Nafion Membrane Coated with Sulfonated Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Nafion Film for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters ◽

10.1149/1.1494176 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 5 (9) ◽

pp. A185 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Zhi-Gang Shao ◽

I-Ming Hsing

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Vinyl Alcohol ◽

Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽

Nafion Membrane ◽

Poly Vinyl Alcohol ◽

Direct Methanol ◽

Nafion Film ◽

Methanol Fuel Cells ◽

Sulfonated Poly

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Increasing the Operating Temperature of Nafion Membranes with Addition of Nanocrystalline Oxides for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-756-ee2.10 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 756 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vincenzo Baglio ◽

Alessandra Di Blasi ◽

Antonino S. Arico' ◽

Vincenzo Antonucci ◽

Pier Luigi Antonucci ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Power Density ◽

Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽

Maximum Power ◽

Nafion Membrane ◽

Membrane Electrode ◽

Maximum Power Density ◽

Nafion Membranes ◽

Direct Methanol ◽

Methanol Fuel Cells

ABSTRACTComposite Nafion membranes containing various amounts of TiO2 (3%, 5% and 10%) were prepared by using a recast procedure for application in high temperature Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFCs). The electrochemical behaviour was compared to that of a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) based on a bare recast Nafion membrane. All the MEAs containing the Nafion-titania membranes were able to operate up to 145°C, whereas the assembly equipped with the bare recast Nafion membrane showed the maximum performance at 120°C. A maximum power density of 340 mW cm-2 was achieved at 145°C with the composite membrane in the presence of oxygen feed, whereas the maximum power density with air feed was about 210 mW cm-2.

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Enhancing the selectivity of Nafion membrane by incorporating a novel functional skeleton molecule to improve the performance of direct methanol fuel cells

Journal of Materials Chemistry A ◽

10.1039/c9ta10215a ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 196-206 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Jialin Li ◽

Fanzhe Bu ◽

Chunyu Ru ◽

Hao Jiang ◽

Yuting Duan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽

Proton Exchange Membranes ◽

Proton Exchange ◽

Nafion Membrane ◽

Direct Methanol ◽

Methanol Fuel Cells

Conventional fillers have limitations on the modification of proton exchange membranes because of differences in the sizes and physicochemical properties of matrix molecules.

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Correction: Enhancing the selectivity of Nafion membrane by incorporating a novel functional skeleton molecule to improve the performance of direct methanol fuel cells

Journal of Materials Chemistry A ◽

10.1039/d0ta90206c ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (36) ◽

pp. 19060-19060 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jialin Li ◽

Fanzhe Bu ◽

Chunyu Ru ◽

Hao Jiang ◽

Yuting Duan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Direct Methanol Fuel Cells ◽

Nafion Membrane ◽

Direct Methanol ◽

Methanol Fuel Cells

Correction for ‘Enhancing the selectivity of Nafion membrane by incorporating a novel functional skeleton molecule to improve the performance of direct methanol fuel cells’ by Jialin Li et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 2020, 8, 196–206, DOI: 10.1039/C9TA10215A.

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