Abstract
Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) functionalized with quaternary ammonium groups are prepared from polyvinyl alcohol for alkaline polymer electrolyte fuel cell (APEFC) application. A series of AEMs were synthesized by direct quaternization of PVA using flexible alkyl spacer as charge carrier added in different weight percentages. These membranes were further cross-linked chemically and thermally before evaluating their ionic conductivity and ion exchange capacity. The interaction of alkyl spacer group with the polymer backbone was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. XRD pattern reveals that the introduction of quaternary ammonium group disrupts the crystalline structure of polymer, increasing its amorphous phase thereby enhancing the conductivity. The QPVA membrane with 15 wt% of alkyl spacer exhibited an improved conductivity of 0.0057 S cm−1 at 40 °C in comparison with other ratios. The cell polarization data for the optimized QPVA membrane was studied at 40 °C with varying ionomer amount. The alkaline stability and cell durability for the optimized QPVA membrane were evaluated for 300 and 25 h, respectively.
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