Attapulgite solvent-free nanofluids modified SPEEK proton exchange membranes for direct methanol fuel cells
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Attapulgite solvent-free nanofluids modified SPEEK proton exchange membranes for direct methanol fuel cells Wen-Chin Tsen 1 Received: 20 March 2020 / Revised: 17 June 2020 / Accepted: 29 June 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) is currently considered to be one of the most potential candidates of commercial perfluorinated sulfonic acid proton exchange membranes. Although SPEEK with high sulfonation degree exhibits high proton conductivity, over high content of polar sulfonic groups will lead to over-swelling of membranes, which in turn result in degraded mechanical properties and alcohol resistance. Herein, to balance the overall performance of SPEEK, attapulgite solvent-free nanofluids (ATP-IL) with special flow behavior were prepared for the first time, and then a series of SPEEK/ATP-IL composite membranes were successfully fabricated and evaluated. The grafted organic long-chain ions on the surface of ATP can not only promote the dispersion of ATP in SPEEK matrix, but also endow ATP with proton conduction ability and thus form channel-like proton transport pathway in the composite with the aid of one-dimension shape of ATP. As a result, the composite membranes demonstrated simultaneously improved strength and toughness. Moreover, the maximum conductivity was 50.7 mS cm−1 for the composite membrane with 5 wt% of ATP-IL at 25 °C and 100% R.H., which was 40% higher than that of SPEEK membrane (only 36.4 mS cm−1). Keywords Polymer electrolytes . Composite electrolytes . Fuel cells . Ionic conductivities . Materials preparations
Introduction With liquid methanol as fuel, direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) exhibit advantages such as simple structure, reasonable reliability, easy storage and transportation of fuel, high specific energy density (up to 6100 Wh kg−1 theoretically), and quick start. Hence, DMFCs have been regarded as an ideal candidate for next generation of portable clean energy power sources [1–3]. As a key component of DMFC, proton exchange membrane (PEM) is responsible for proton conduction as well as separation of fuel and oxidant [4]. Indeed, costs and performance of a fuel cell are highly dependent on those of its PEM. To date, the most widely used PEMs in DMFCs are perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes (e.g., Nafion membranes by DuPont, USA) which are commercially used in H2–O2 fuel cells. However, Nafion membranes cannot effectively prevent methanol penetration from the anode to cathode * Wen-Chin Tsen [email protected] 1
Department of Fashion and Design, Lee-Ming Institute of Technology, New Taipei City 243, Taiwan
in DMFCs, resulting in severe degradation of cell performance [5]. Additionally, Nafion membranes exhibit low proton conductivity at high temperatures or low humidity and their preparations require sophisticated process and high cost [6]. Therefore, development of novel PEMs with high performances and low cost has been a hot topic in the field of DMFCs. Non-fluorine prot
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