Anion exchange membranes composed of quaternized polybenzimidazole and quaternized graphene oxide for glucose fuel cell

Abstract

Glucose is one of derivative products from agriculture, possessing high theoretical energy density, non-toxicity and ease of storage, which has been of interest as a fuel in glucose fuel cell. In this work, quaternized polybenzimidazole (Q-PBI) and quaternized graphene oxide (Q-GO) were successfully functionalized by the quaternization between polybenzimidazole (PBI) and 3-bromopropyl trimethylammonium bromide (3-Br), and the reaction between graphene oxide (GO) and dimethyloctadecyl [3(Trimethoxysilyl) propyl]ammonium chloride (DMAOP), respectively. The Q-GOs with various volume fractions were embedded as the dispersed phase in the Q-PBI matrix to produce the Q-GO/Q-PBI composites as an AEM. The 0.5%v/vQ-GO/Q-PBI composite AEM showed the highest hydroxide conductivity of 1.12 ± 0.01 mS cm−1 at 27 °C, the ion exchange capacity of 1.70 ± 0.03 mmol·g−1, the water uptake of 66.61 ± 0.57%, and the glucose permeability of (1.79 ± 0.83) × 10−8 cm2·s−1. The hydroxide conductivity was higher than the commercial Fumasep® FAB-PK-130 by a factor of 23 times, whereas the glucose permeability was lower by at least an order of magnitude.