Effect of graphene oxide (GO) on Poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF- HFP) polymer electrolyte membrane

Abstract

Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) has been used as an excellent host polymer for polymer electrolyte membranes because of its outstanding chemical resistance, high mechanical and thermal stability with lower cost. However, further modifications by using other polymers, nanomaterials, additives, and fillers are of great interest to enhance the properties of the host polymers. Among inorganic fillers, graphene oxide (GO) has received a tremendous response due to its higher surface area, mechanical strength, thermal stability and other properties. Thus, different amount of GO (1 wt%, 2.5 wt%, and 5 wt%) has successfully been incorporated into PVDF-HFP to prepare composite membrane by using breathe figure method. The FTIR analysis confirms successful incorporation of GO into PVDF-HFP polymer matrix, while XRD, TGA, DSC, and ionic conductivity tests have shown the efficacy of GO fillers on PVDF-HFP PEMs. The ionic conductivity of PEM has improved by almost three times after incorporation of 2.5 wt% GO particles. Moreover, the excellent thermal stability, electrolyte uptake and morphology of PVDF-HFP PEM are also attributed to GO addition. The GO addition has shown significant influence on PVDF-HFP polymer electrolyte membrane and can be an effective alternate separator or PEM in various energy applications.