Incorporation of nano-Al2O3 within the blend of sulfonated-PVdF-co-HFP and Nafion for high temperature application in DMFCs

By K
Published in RSC Adv. The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015

Abstract

Nano-Al2O3 was incorporated into the blend of sulfonated-PVdF-co-HFP/Nafion using NMP (1-methyl-2-pyrrolidone) as a common solvent with the aim to develop an alternate membrane to be used in a single cell direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). Furthermore, the synthesized nano-composite membranes were subjected to different tests such as FTIR, XRD, water uptake, swelling, IEC (ion exchange capacity), proton conductivity and methanol crossover. The water uptake results indicated that with an increase in the nano-Al2O3 content (up to 5% w/w) in the blend, the water uptake of the nanocomposite matrix rapidly increased up to 34.8%. Sample S-5 composed of 5% (w/w) Al2O3 exhibited comparable proton conductivity/IEC, low methanol permeability and high membrane selectivity over the corresponding Nafion-117 membrane. In addition, the prospective nanocomposite membrane also exhibited comparable mechanical stability. Moreover, the maxim

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