Improved Thermo-Mechanical Properties and Reduced Hydrogen Permeation of Short Side-Chain Perfluorosulfonic Acid Membranes Doped with Ti3C2Tx

Benefiting from its large specific surface with functional -OH/-F groups, Ti3C2Tx, a typical two-dimensional (2D) material in the recently developed MXene family, was synthesized and used as a filler to improve the properties of the short side-chain (SSC) perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) proton exchange membrane. It is found that the proton conductivity is enhanced by 15% while the hydrogen permeation is reduced by 45% after the addition of 1.5 wt% Ti3C2Tx filler into the SSC PFSA membrane. The improved proton conductivity of the composite membrane could be associated with the improved proton transport environment in the presence of the hydrophilic functional groups (such as -OH) of the Ti3C2Tx filler. The significantly reduced hydrogen permeation could be attributed to the incorporation of the impermeable Ti3C2Tx 2D fillers and the decreased hydrophilic ionic domain spacing examined by the small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) for the composite membrane. Furthermore, improved thermo-mechanical properties of the SSC/Ti3C2Tx composite membrane were measured by dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) and tensile strength testing. The demonstrated higher proton conductivity, lower hydrogen permeation, and improved thermo-mechanical stability indicate that the SSC/Ti3C2Tx composite membranes could be a potential membrane material for PEM fuel cells operating above the water boiling temperature.

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Short side chain perfluorosulfonic acid membranes and their composites with nanosized zirconium phosphate: hydration, mechanical properties and proton conductivity

Journal of Materials Chemistry ◽

10.1039/c2jm34958b ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 22 (47) ◽

pp. 24902 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Monica Pica ◽

Anna Donnadio ◽

Mario Casciola ◽

Paula Cojocaru ◽

Luca Merlo

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Proton Conductivity ◽

Zirconium Phosphate ◽

Side Chain ◽

Perfluorosulfonic Acid ◽

Short Side ◽

Perfluorosulfonic Acid Membranes

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Preparation and characterization of sulfonated poly(arylene thioether sulfone)/imino-containing phosphorylated silica particle composite proton exchange membranes

High Performance Polymers ◽

10.1177/0954008318793932 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (7) ◽

pp. 753-766

Author(s):

Jinghe Hou ◽

Shanshan Liu ◽

Xiang Sun ◽

Zhenyu Xiao ◽

Huili Ding

Keyword(s):

Proton Conductivity ◽

Composite Membrane ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Proton Exchange Membranes ◽

Pem Fuel Cells ◽

Proton Exchange ◽

Condensation Polymerization ◽

Ion Clusters ◽

Effective Reinforcement ◽

Sulfonated Poly

In this article, novel nanocomposite proton exchange membranes (PEMs) were prepared by embedding imino-containing phosphorylated silica nanoparticles into a sulfonated poly(arylene thioether sulfone) (SPTES) polymer matrix. SPTES was synthesized via condensation polymerization of 4,4′-thiobisbenzenethiol, 4,4′-difluorodiphenylsulfone, and disodium 3,3′-disulfonate-4,4′-difluorodiphenylsulfone. The imino-containing phosphorylated silica particles (Si-imP) were prepared by the Kabachnik–Fields reaction, which is confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The results showed that the Si-imP were uniformly distributed in the composite membrane. The properties of the composite membranes, including thermal stability, water uptake, swelling ratio, oxidative stability, and proton conductivity, were thoroughly evaluated. Experimental results indicated that Si-imP may be effective reinforcement materials for SPTES membranes. It is noteworthy that an increase in proton conductivity from 0.138 S cm−1 of the SPTES control membrane to 0.173 S cm−1 of the composite membrane was achieved at the Si-imP content of 5 wt% under fully hydrated conditions at 80°C. This finding primarily stems from the fact that the Si-imP could be linked with the sulfonate ion clusters of SPTES to form more continuous ionic networks. These networks act as efficient proton-hopping pathways to enhanced proton conductivity. The nanocomposite membranes are demonstrated to be promising candidates as new polymeric electrolyte materials for PEM fuel cells operated at medium temperatures.

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Understanding of temperature-dependent performance of short-side-chain perfluorosulfonic acid electrolyte and reinforced composite membrane

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy ◽

10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.01.204 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 39 (28) ◽

pp. 15948-15955 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Pan Xiao ◽

Junrui Li ◽

Rui Chen ◽

Rui Wang ◽

Mu Pan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Composite Membrane ◽

Side Chain ◽

Acid Electrolyte ◽

Temperature Dependent ◽

Perfluorosulfonic Acid ◽

Short Side ◽

Reinforced Composite

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Morphological differences in short side chain and long side chain perfluorosulfonic acid proton exchange membranes at low and high water contents

RSC Advances ◽

10.1039/c3ra41976b ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (42) ◽

pp. 19525 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Nicholas J. Economou ◽

James R. O'Dea ◽

Thomas B. McConnaughy ◽

Steven K. Buratto

Keyword(s):

High Water ◽

Proton Exchange Membranes ◽

Proton Exchange ◽

Side Chain ◽

Perfluorosulfonic Acid ◽

Short Side ◽

Acid Proton ◽

Morphological Differences ◽

Water Contents

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Facile Preparation of Well-Dispersed GO-SPEEK Composite Membranes by Electrospun for Fuel Cell Applications

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/opl.2015.97 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1735 ◽

Author(s):

Xu Liu ◽

Xiaoyu Meng ◽

Chuanming Shi ◽

Jiangbei Huo ◽

Ziqing Cai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Proton Conductivity ◽

Composite Membrane ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Proton Exchange ◽

Electrospinning Technique ◽

Fuel Cell Application ◽

High Proton ◽

Poly Ether Ether Ketone ◽

Direct Methanol

ABSTRACTGraphene oxide (GO) is one of the most attractive inorganic nanofillers in proton exchange membranes (PEMs) for its large specific surface area and high proton conductivity. The proton conductivity of GO nanosheet is known to be orders of magnitude greater than the bulk GO, thus it is essential to improve the dispersion of GO nanosheets in the PEM matrix to achieve higher conductivity. In this study, we report a facile and effective method to fabricate a GO/sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (SPEEK) composite membrane with well-dispersed GO nanosheets in SPEEK matrix by using electrospinning technique for direct methanol fuel cell application. The composite membrane exhibits improved proton conductivity, dimensional stability and methanol barrier property due to the presence of well-dispersed GOs. It is believed that the GO nanosheets can not only induce continuous channels for proton-conducting via Grotthuss mechanism, but also act as methanol barriers to hinder the methanol molecules from passing through the membrane.

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Nafion – Azole Composite Membranes for High Temperature PEMFC

Materials Science Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.783-786.1692 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 783-786 ◽

pp. 1692-1697

Author(s):

Je Deok Kim ◽

Mun Suk Jun

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Thermal Stability ◽

High Temperature ◽

Proton Conductivity ◽

Composite Membrane ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Thermal And Mechanical Properties ◽

High Proton Conductivity ◽

High Proton

Nafion-azole (benzimidazole, 1,2,4-triazole, 1,2,3-triazole) composite membranes were prepared by room temperature and autoclave solution processing for high temperature (above 100 °C) PEMFC. Among the various Nafion – azole composite membranes, Nafion – 1,2,3-triazole membrane showed excellent flexibility, thermal stability, and homogeneous structure. Nafion – 1,2,4-triazole composite membrane had high thermal and mechanical properties, and also showed high proton conductivity of 0.02 S/cm at the temperature of 160 °C under dry (N2) condition.

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Hybrid Composite Membrane of Phosphorylated Chitosan/Poly (Vinyl Alcohol)/Silica as a Proton Exchange Membrane

Membranes ◽

10.3390/membranes11090675 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 675

Author(s):

Nur Adiera Hanna Rosli ◽

Kee Shyuan Loh ◽

Wai Yin Wong ◽

Tian Khoon Lee ◽

Azizan Ahmad

Keyword(s):

Proton Conductivity ◽

Composite Membrane ◽

Vinyl Alcohol ◽

Proton Exchange Membrane ◽

Mechanical Stability ◽

Composite Membranes ◽

Proton Exchange ◽

Inorganic Filler ◽

Poly Vinyl Alcohol ◽

Filler Concentration

Chitosan is one of the natural biopolymers that has been studied as an alternative material to replace Nafion membranes as proton change membranes. Nevertheless, unmodified chitosan membranes have limitations including low proton conductivity and mechanical stability. The aim of this work is to study the effect of modifying chitosan through polymer blending with different compositions and the addition of inorganic filler on the microstructure and physical properties of N-methylene phosphonic chitosan/poly (vinyl alcohol) (NMPC/PVA) composite membranes. In this work, the NMPC biopolymer and PVA polymer are used as host polymers to produce NMPC/PVA composite membranes with different compositions (30–70% NMPC content). Increasing NMPC content in the membranes increases their proton conductivity, and as NMPC/PVA-50 composite membrane demonstrates the highest conductivity (8.76 × 10−5 S cm−1 at room temperature), it is chosen to be the base membrane for modification by adding hygroscopic silicon dioxide (SiO2) filler into its membrane matrix. The loading of SiO2 filler is varied (0.5–10 wt.%) to study the influence of filler concentration on temperature-dependent proton conductivity of membranes. NMPC/PVA-SiO2 (4 wt.%) exhibits the highest proton conductivity of 5.08 × 10−4 S cm−1 at 100 °C. In conclusion, the study shows that chitosan can be modified to produce proton exchange membranes that demonstrate enhanced properties and performance with the addition of PVA and SiO2.

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