Development and Testing of Zinc Oxide Embedded Sulfonated Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) Nanocomposite Membranes for Fuel Cells

Abstract

The sol-gel technique was adopted to synthesize the zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles. Nano-sized ZnO particles are embedded in-situ to the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix to form the nanocomposite polymeric membranes. The nanocomposite membranes were fabricated by varying concentration of ZnO nanoparticles of 2.5, 5, and 10 wt.% in the base PVA membrane matrix. The membranes were crosslinked using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) followed by hydrolysis and co-condensation. Immersion in a 2 molar sulphuric acid (H2SO4) bath produced sulfonated membranes. The membranes were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The fabricated nano-composite membranes are being evaluated for proton exchange membrane fuel cell research (PEMFC). The computed test results demonstrate that increasing the concentration of ZnO in the membrane increased the ionic exchange capacity and proton conductivity efficiency of the nano-composite membranes. The incorporation of a quantum quantity of ZnO particles in the membrane improved the presentation in terms of proton conductivity characteristics. Membranes demonstrated excellent proton conductivity (10−2 S cm−1 range) while consuming less hydrogen gas. The highest measured proton conductivity is observed for 10 wt.% ZnO embedded PVA membrane and the value is 15.321 × 10−2 S cm−1 for 100% RH. The combination of ZnO and PVA nanocomposite membrane is a novel, next-generation eco-friendly method that is economical and convenient for large-scale commercial production in fuel cell applications.

Beyond Conventional: Antibacterial, Antioxidant, and Photocatalytic Properties of Nanofibers Featuring Metal-Oxide-Modified Boron Nitride Nanoparticles

“…The stretching vibrations of C–O and C–H align with the bands at 1247 and 2925 cm –1 , respectively. The bands in the range of 400–500 cm –1 are attributed to the characteristic absorption of the M–O stretching vibrations . The stretching and bending vibrations of BN were observed at approximately 1390 and 850 cm –1 , respectively …”

“…The bands in the range of 400−500 cm −1 are attributed to the characteristic absorption of the M−O stretching vibrations. 70 The stretching and bending vibrations of BN were observed at approximately 1390 and 850 cm −1 , respectively. 61 The effect of fBN/MO nanoparticles on the TC of PVA/ PAA nanofibers was also investigated (Table 1).…”

Enhanced O2/N2 separation by QuaternizedMatrimid/Multiwalled carbon nanotube mixed-matrix membrane

“…With tensile values of 70.2 MPa for the M@ f -MWCNT_10 and 60.3 MPa for the M@ f -MWCNT_5, the composite membrane outperforms the nascent matrimid membrane by 219 % and 187 %, respectively (32.11 MPa). Interfacial bonding and features between fillers and polymer matrix are well known to affect the mechanical properties and structural integrity of composite materials [ 43 ]. The increased mechanical strength [ 45 ] measured by nanoindentation indicates that the modified MWCNTs are distributed uniformly throughout the matrimid membrane matrix with minimal aggregation.…”

“…: where ‘ q ’ denotes the amount of gas adsorbed per mass of membrane, ‘ p ’ the pressure, and is the membrane density. This calculation assumes no competing O 2 and N 2 adsorption in the membrane [ 7 , 37 , 43 ]. D, or gas diffusivity in the membrane, is calculated by dividing permeability by solubility.…”

Investigating the Performance of a Zinc Oxide Impregnated Polyvinyl Alcohol-Based Low-Cost Cation Exchange Membrane in Microbial Fuel Cells

“…Recently, membranes of electrolyte polymers based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) have piqued the interest of researchers due to their wide range of applications in proton exchange, pervaporation, fuel cells, and so on [ 35 ]. Low-cost PVA-inorganic composite membranes have high thermal, dimensional, and mechanical stability and outstanding electrochemical and hydrophilic characteristics, all of which are required for an ion exchange membrane [ 36 ]. The inclusion of inorganic dopants improves the ion transport characteristic of polymeric membranes.…”