A quaternized Poly(aryl piperidinium)/ Quaternary MXene based three-layer membrane for alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cells

Abstract

Combined high ionic conductivity and high mechanical properties are the requirements of the electrolyte membrane for alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cells. Quaternary ammonium groups functionalized MXene as filler could improve the mechanical strength and ionic conductivity of membrane. In this work, a Quaternized poly(p-terphenylene piperidinium) (QPAP) /Quaternary MXene(NH4–Mo2Ti2C3Tx)/QPAP triple-layer membrane was fabricated. The OH− ionic conductivity of the triple-layer QPAP/NH4–Mo2Ti2C3Tx/QPAP membrane is 0.121 S cm−1 at 80 °C, which is around 53 % higher than that of the pristine QPAP. The QPAP/NH4–Mo2Ti2C3Tx/QPAP membrane exhibits peak power density of 540 mW cm−2. The improved conductivity and performance of AEM could be attributed to the quaternary ammonium groups on the NH4–Mo2Ti2C3Tx surface as the vehicle for OH− transport. The QPAP/NH4–Mo2Ti2C3Tx electrolyte membrane was also observed to exhibit high stability. Moreover, QPAP/NH4–Mo2Ti2C3Tx/QPAP with a three-layer structure membrane exhibits a high tensile strength (TS, ∼68 MPa) and high elongation at break (EB, ∼21 %), which reach about three times that of the pristine QPAP membrane.