Effect of functionalized SiO ₂ toward proton conductivity of composite membranes for PEMFC application

Abstract

Summary Organic‐inorganic composite membranes were prepared by introducing silicon dioxide (SiO2) or functionalized SiO2 (ƒ‐SiO2) with various particle sizes into sulfonated poly (arylene ether ketone) (SPAEK) containing pendant groups, and the membrane was manufactured via directly casting which is a cost‐competitive method. The structure and morphology of the composite membranes were confirmed by 1H NMR, FT‐IR, XRD, and FE‐SEM analysis which demonstrated that inorganic nanofillers were successfully introduced. The FE‐SEM surface images showed that SiO2 and ƒ‐SiO2 particles were very well dispersed within the membrane sheets. The water uptake and swelling ratio of the composite membranes including SiO2 or ƒ‐SiO2 almost did not change when compared with the pristine SPAEK membrane. All fabricated membranes demonstrated good thermal/dimensional stabilities, robust mechanical behavior, and excellent proton conductivity. In particular, the SPAEK/ƒ‐SiO2 composite membranes exhibited improved ionic conductivity compared with the pristine membrane at 70% relative humidity (RH) due to hydrogen bonding between ─SO3H groups of functionalized inorganic filler and polymer backbone. Furthermore, the maximum power density of SPAEK/ƒ‐SiO2 reached as high as 273.11 mW cm−2 at 60°C under 70% RH. Therefore, the composite membranes with ƒ‐SiO2 testify to great potential as polymer electrolyte membrane.

Selectivity of Transport Processes in Ion-Exchange Membranes: Relationship with the Structure and Methods for Its Improvement

“…Increased conductivity is not the only advantage of hybrid membranes. Some authors also note an improvement in their mechanical properties [ 177 , 207 , 208 ]. Although it is not always achieved, the mechanical properties of hybrid membranes are usually sufficient for their practical use [ 16 , 209 ].…”

Composite Polymers Development and Application for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Technologies—A Review

“…Lee et al [177] synthesized sulphonated silicon dioxide within SPAEK. As expected, the addition of the filler improved fuel cell performance (at 60 • C and at both 100 and 70% RH) but the functionalised filler also outperformed the composite with non-functionalised silicon dioxide.…”

Enhancing proton conductivity of phosphoric acid‐doped Kevlar nanofibers membranes by incorporating polyacrylamide and 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride

“…4,5 Therefore, there has being the challenges to design and prepare PEMs with the outstanding properties operating at a range of 100-200 C without humidification. [6][7][8] For the preparation of high temperature proton exchange membranes (HTPEMs), the intensive researches focused on introducing the anhydrous proton conduction carriers into functional polymers, such as polybenzimidazole (PBI) 9 and functional groups modifying PBI, 10,11 poly(2,5-benzimidazole) (abPBI), 12 sulfonated PBI, 13 Nafion, 14 poly(ether sulfone benzotriazole) (PESB), 15 polysulfone (PSF), 16 polyethersulfone (PES), 17 sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK), 18,19 sulfonated polyimide (SPI), 20 sulfonated poly(imide-benzimidazole) (SPIBI), 21 polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), 22 polyvinyl chloride (PVC), 23 and blend polymers. 24,25 Among the reported results, PAdoped PBI-based membranes with inspired results were thus regarded as the most promising candidate as HTPEMs.…”