Highly branched poly(arylene ether)/surface functionalized fullerene‐based composite membrane electrolyte for DMFC applications

Abstract

Summary Sulfonated branched polymer membranes have been gaining immense attention as the separator in energy‐related applications especially in fuel cells and flow batteries. Utilization of this branched polymer membranes in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is limited because of large free volume and high methanol permeation. In the present work, sulfonated fullerene is used to improve the methanol barrier property of the highly branched sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone sulfone)s membrane without sacrificing its high proton conductivity. The existence of sulfonated fullerene with larger size and the usage of small quantity in the branched polymer matrix effectively prevent the methanol transportation channel across the membrane. The composite membrane with an optimized loading of sulfonated fullerene displays the highest proton conductivity of 0.332 S cm−1 at 80°C. Radical scavenging property of the fullerene improves the oxidative stability of the composite membrane. Composite membrane exhibits the peak power density of 74.38 mW cm−2 at 60°C, which is 30% larger than the commercial Nafion 212 membrane (51.78 mW cm−2) at the same condition. From these results, it clearly depicts that sulfonated fullerene‐incorporated branched polymer electrolyte membrane emerges as a promising candidate for DMFC applications.

Carbon nanocomposites self‐assembly UiO‐66‐doped chitosan proton exchange membrane with enhanced proton conductivity

“…Compared with the pure CS membrane, the hybrid membranes had a slightly higher initial thermal decomposition temperature with the doping of fillers (UiO‐66‐SCNT and UiO‐66‐SCNT@GO), indicating its good thermal stability. The results of TG demonstrate that the membranes meet the application requirements of PEMFC …”

“…Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell and widely used in portable energy and transportation equipment due to high power density, good switching capability, and low operating temperature . As a key part of DMFCs, the proton‐exchange membrane (PEM) is responsible for the proton transportation to ensure the normal operation of fuel cells .…”

Improving the performance of sulfonated polymer membrane by using sulfonic acid functionalized hetero‐metallic metal‐organic framework for DMFC applications

“…In particular branched sulfonated polymer prepared with bisphenol fluorine monomer showed excellent stability in Fenton's reagent with outstanding proton conductivity . The performance of the branched polymer membranes can be further improved by mixing with suitable filler …”

“…7 The performance of the branched polymer membranes can be further improved by mixing with suitable filler. 9,10 Metal-organic frameworks (MOF) have been used in various fields such as catalysis, separation, adsorption, and drug delivery, etc. [11][12][13][14] Recently, MOFs were utilized as proton conductors in the field of energy material.…”

Highly branched poly (arylene ether)/surface‐functionalized fullerene‐based composite membrane electrolyte for DMFC applications

“…In the article by Neelakandan et al, the second affiliation was missing. The corrected affiliations for all authors are shown above.…”