Abstract
The composite structure, good porosity, and electrochemical behavior of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) are important characteristics, which can improve the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). In this study, we designed and synthesized an XY block copolymer via a polycondensation reaction that contains sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) (X) as a hydrophilic unit and a fluorinated oligomer (Y) as a hydrophobic unit. The prepared XY block copolymer is composed of Fe3O4 nanoparticles to create composite architecture, which was subsequently treated with a 1 M H2SO4 solution at 70 °C for 1 h to eliminate Fe3O4 and generate a pores structure in the membrane. The morphological, physiochemical, thermomechanical, and electrochemical properties of bare XY, XY/Fe3O4-9 and XY(porous)-9 membranes were measured and compared in detail. Compared with XY/Fe3O4-9 composite, the proton conductivity of XY(porous)-9 membrane was remarkably enhanced as a result of the existence of pores as nano-conducting channels. Similarly, the XY(porous)-9 membrane exhibited enhanced water retention and ion exchange capacity among the prepared membranes. However, the PEFC power density of XY(porous)-9 membrane was still lower than that of XY/Fe3O4-9 membrane at 60 °C and 60% relative humidity. Also, the durability of XY(porous)-9 membrane is found to be lower compared with pristine XY and XY/Fe3O4-9 membranes as a result of the hydrogen crossover through the pores of the membrane.
Highlights
Environmental pollution is a severe threat to all countries owing to increasing emanation of green-house gases from the incineration of fossil fuels [1,2,3]
We report the synthesis of an XY block structure, wherein X was the sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) as a hydrophilic unit and Y was the fluorinated poly(arylene isopropylidenediphenol biphenyl) oligomer as a hydrophobic unit using nucleophilic substitution strategy
Hygroscopic Fe3 O4 nanoparticles were synthesized via the co-precipitation method and doped onto an XY block copolymer matrix to fabricate a novel Proton exchange membranes (PEMs)
Summary
Environmental pollution is a severe threat to all countries owing to increasing emanation of green-house gases from the incineration of fossil fuels [1,2,3]. Nafion is the state-of-the-art membrane used in PEFCs because of its long-term durability, high electrical insulation, high proton conductivity, excellent dimensional stability, and good chemical stability. Exploiting block copolymer PEMs consisting of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic units is a fascinating strategy that has been proposed to alleviate the trade-off between ion conductivity and dimensional stability [10]. Materials that contain ordered and interconnected nano-pores have efficient and selective proton transport, which is a critical benefit in PEFCs. State-of-the-art Nafion is a well-known porous membrane that possesses connective proton transport channels [17]. The electrochemical properties were investigated in terms of proton conductivity and PEFC performance to test the suitability of the porous membrane for use in fuel cell applications. We have compared all the obtained physiochemical, thermomechanical, and electrochemical properties of membranes with and without Fe3 O4 to find better PEMs for PEFC application
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