Effect of various concentration of sulfuric acid for Nafion membrane activation on the performance of fuel cell

Abstract

Abstract. This work proposes an activation treatment to Nafion 117 membrane with sulfuric acid in various concentrations. The main goal of this study is to increase the Nafion 117 membrane performance, which is determined by proton number in the membrane and membrane performance in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). This work was developed using sulfuric acids in four different concentrations: 1, 2, 3, and 4 M. The surface morphology and functional groups of activated membranes were studied using Scanning Electron Microscope and Fourier Transform Infrared, respectively. The proton number absorbed in membranes was observed by gravimetric measurements. The performances of activated membranes in PEMFC were studied by single cell measurements with H 2 /O 2 operation. The experimental results showed that activation of Nafion membrane did not change its surface morphology and functional groups. The proton number increased when the concentration of sulfuric acid is increased from 1 to 3 M and from 1 to 4 M. On the other hand, there is no significant increase when the concentration of sulfuric acid was increased from 1 to 2 M. Similar trends were observed when testing activated membrane performance in PEMFC, especially for current density at 0.6 V and maximum power. It is assumed that there is a correlation between the increase of sulfuric acid concentration in activation process with the increase of proton number in the membrane that are available for facilitating of transfer protons from the anode to the cathode.

Impact of ionomer structuration on the performance of bio-inspired noble-metal-free fuel cell anodes

“…A Nafion membrane sheet (NRE-212, 50 µm thick, Alfa Aesar) was activated prior to use following a standard procedure 68 in 4 steps at 80 °C: 30 min in 3 wt. % H2O2 aqueous solution, 30 min in deionized water, 30 min in H2SO4 (0.5 M) and then 30 min in deionized water.…”

Valorization of lignin to obtain platform chemicals via bio‐electrochemical systems: batch and fed‐batch mode analysis

“…Each MPPC system had a working volume of 200 mL. The anode and cathode electrodes were made of plain graphite felt and pretreated using the procedure described by Pujiastuti and Onggo 12 . The electrodes were connected using a copper wire.…”

Exploring the Oxidative Effects of the Microbial Electro-Fenton Process on the Depolymerization of Lignin Extracted from Rice Straw in a Bio-Electrochemical System Coupled with Wastewater Treatment

“…Nafion 117 membranes were treated as follows in sequence: they were heated for 1 h in 3% H 2 O 2 solution at 80 °C, 1 h in distilled water at 80 °C to remove traces of H 2 O 2 , 1 h in sulfuric acid H 2 SO 4 solution at 80 °C, and 1 h in distilled water at 80 °C. 14 Domestic wastewater was used as the anodic feed, and nutrient substrate was added to the anodic feed consisting of glucose (700 mg L −1 ), NaH 2 PO 4 (4.22 g L −1 ) NH 4 Cl (0.31 g L −1 ), KCl (0.13 g L −1 ), and Na 2 HPO 4 (2.75 g L −1 ). The catholyte was made up of 50 mM Na 2 SO 4 of pH 3.…”