Abstract
One of the technical barriers for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell is the membrane that should have reasonable proton conductivity at reduced relative humidity. In this paper, membranes containing Nafion and 2-substituted imidazole derivatives have been formed through casting process. Imidazole moieties are immobilizied inside the formed membrane though grafting of hydrophobic hydrocarbon chains at 2-position of imidazole. The proton conductivity of the so-formed membranes reaches 6.8×10-3 S cm-1 at 160 °C under anhydrous conditions. Compared to pristine Nafion membrane, the thermal stability of the formed membranes is enhanced. The inter-connected ionic clusters formation has been observed through electrostatic force microscopy. Based on activation energy for proton transportation, the mechanism of proton transportation below and above 120 °C is proposed.
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