scholarly journals Polymer Electrolyte Membranes Based on Nafion and a Superacidic Inorganic Additive for Fuel Cell Applications

Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Mazzapioda ◽  
Stefania Panero ◽  
Maria Assunta Navarra

Nafion composite membranes, containing different amounts of mesoporous sulfated titanium oxide (TiO2-SO4) were prepared by solvent-casting and tested in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), operating at very low humidification levels. The TiO2-SO4 additive was originally synthesized by a sol-gel method and characterized through x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and ion exchange capacity (IEC). Peculiar properties of the composite membranes, such as the thermal transitions and ion exchange capacity, were investigated and here discussed. When used as an electrolyte in the fuel cell, the composite membrane guaranteed an improvement with respect to bare Nafion systems at 30% relative humidity and 110 °C, exhibiting higher power and current densities.

Author(s):  
D. Vidhyeswari ◽  
A. Surendhar ◽  
S. Bhuvaneshwari

Abstract The aim of this study is to synthesis SPEEK composite proton exchange membrane with the addition of TiO2 nanofillers for microbial fuel cell application. SPEEK composite membrane with varying weight percentage of TiO2 (2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10%) was prepared to study the effect of TiO2 concentration on membrane performance. Synthesized composite membranes were subjected to various characterization studies such as FT-IR, XRD, Raman spectroscopy; TGA, UTM and SEM. Physico-chemical properties of membrane such as water uptake capacity, ion exchange capacity and thickness were also analyzed. 5% TiO2 – SPEEK composite membrane exhibited the higher water uptake capacity value and Ion exchange capacity value of 31% and 1.71 meq/g respectively. Performance of the MFC system with TiO2 – SPEEK membranes were evaluated and compared with the pristine SPEEK and Nafion membrane. 5% TiO2 – SPEEK membrane produced the higher power density (1.22 W/m2) and voltage (0.635 V) than the other membranes investigated. Efficacy of MFC in wastewater treatment was evaluated based on the chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon content and turbidity. Biofilm growth over the surface of the electrodes was also analyzed using scanning electron microscopy.


2014 ◽  
Vol 666 ◽  
pp. 3-7
Author(s):  
Theampetch Apichaya ◽  
Paweena Prapainainar ◽  
Chaiwat Prapainainar

In this paper, proton conducting composite membranes of Nafion®-mordenite for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) were prepared using solution casting method. Mordenite, used as inorganic filler, was incorporated into Nafion polymer in order to improve membrane properties for DMFC application. Effect of solution casting temperature on resulting composite membranes was focused. The temperature of the membrane preparation was varied from 80 to 120°C. Properties and morphology of the resulting membranes including solubility, water uptake, ion – exchange capacity were investigated and reported. It was found that composite membrane prepared at 100°C gave the most alcohol resistance and mechanical stability membrane with 0.59% soluble. Furthermore, it gave highest ion – exchange capacity, 0.10 meq⋅g-1, which is 33% and 98% higher than the membranes prepared at 80°C and 120°C respectively.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Hamid ◽  
Muhammad Khan ◽  
Fakhar Hussain ◽  
Amir Zada ◽  
Tiehu Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Three types (type-A, B, and C) of composite polymeric membranes (CPMs) based on poly vinyl chloride (PVC) and different fillers (sodium polyacrylate and sodium polyacrylate-graphite) soaked in water and 0.5 N HCl were prepared using solvent casting method. Different physicochemical parameters such as microscopic surface study, water uptake, perpendicular swelling, density, porosity (ε), ion exchange capacity, and conductivity of the as the prepared CPMs were evaluated. Interestingly, type-A CPM cast with filler-A has greater values of the above parameters except density and ionic conductivity than those of type-B and C CPMs. The water uptake of type-A, B and C composite membranes was respectively in the range of 220.42–534.70, 59.64–41.65, and 15.94–2.62%. Ion exchange capacity of type-A, B and C CPMs was in the range of 3.669 × 107–2.156 × 107, 5.948 × 107–1.258 × 107, and 1.454 × 107–1.201 × 107 m.eq.g−1 respectively while the conductivity order was type-A < B < C. These types of CPMs may be helpful in many applications including proton exchange membranes, fuel cell like devices, as sensors for different metals, gas purification, water treatment, and battery separators.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ridwan Septiawan ◽  
Dian Permana ◽  
Sitti Hadijah Sabarwati ◽  
La Ode Ahmad ◽  
La Ode Ahmad Nur Ramadhan

Chitosan was modified by maleic anhydride, and it was then functionalized using heterogeneous and blending method to obtain the membrane. The results of the reaction between chitosan with maleic anhydride were signed by the new peak appears around 1475 cm-1 which attributed to C=C bending of alkene. The new peak also appears at 1590 cm-1 which attributed to N-H bending of amide. Chitosan-maleic anhydride membranes show microstructure of chitosan membrane with high porous density and rigidity while chitosan-maleic anhydride membranes have clusters. In addition, the thermal tenacity of membranes reached 500 °C. Modified membrane by heterogeneous and blending method have higher water uptake, ion exchange capacity, and proton conductivity than chitosan membrane. Moreover, the blending method is much more effective than the heterogeneous method that can be exhibited from ion exchange capacity and proton conductivity values of 1.08–6.38 meq g-1 and 1x10-3–1x10-2 S cm-1, 0.92–2.27 meq g-1 and 1.53x10-4–3.04x10-3 S cm-1, respectively. The results imply that modification of chitosan membrane with the addition of maleic anhydride using heterogeneous and blending method can be applied to proton exchange membrane.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 1460016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Ma ◽  
Dongyun Su ◽  
Hongjun Ni ◽  
Mingyu Huang ◽  
Xingxing Wang

A variety of modification approaches such as cross-linking and nano blending have been explored to prepare efficient membranes based on Sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK). The addition filler is also one of the most widely used approaches to modify the SPEEK. The crosslinked membranes were utilized as proton exchange membranes (PEM) for fuel cell application. The performances of these composite membranes were comparative researched in terms of water uptake, ion exchange capacity, proton conductivity, and methanol permeability.While the nanohybrid membranes display remarkably enhanced proton conduction property due to the incorporation of additional sites for proton transport and the formation of well-connected channels by bridging the hydrophilic domains in SPEEK matrix. The as-prepared nanohybrid membranes also show elevated thermal and mechanical stabilities as well as decreased methanol permeability.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1570 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Rico-Zavala ◽  
J. L. Pineda-Delgado ◽  
A. Carbone ◽  
A. Saccà ◽  
E. Passalacqua ◽  
...  

The aim of this work is the evaluation of a Sulfonated Poly Ether-Ether Ketone (S-PEEK) polymer modified by the addition of pure Santa Barbara Amorphous-15 (SBA-15, mesoporous silica) and SBA-15 previously impregnated with phosphotungstic acid (PWA) fillers (PWA/SBA-15) in order to prepare composite membranes as an alternative to conventional Nafion® membranes. This component is intended to be used as an electrolyte in electrochemical energy systems such as hydrogen and methanol Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) and Electrochemical Hydrogen Pumping (EHP). The common requirements for all the applications are high proton conductivity, thermomechanical stability, and fuel and oxidant impermeability. The morphology of the composite membranes was investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy- Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis. Water Uptake (Wup), Ion Exchange Capacity (IEC), proton conductivity, methanol permeability and other physicochemical properties were evaluated. In PEMFC tests, the S-PEEK membrane with a 10 wt.% SBA-15 loading showed the highest performance. For EHP, the inclusion of inorganic materials led to a back-diffusion, limiting the compression capacity. Concerning methanol permeability, the lowest methanol crossover corresponded to the composites containing 5 wt.% and 10 wt.% SBA-15.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document