Experimental Investigation of boron phosphate Incorporated speek/pvdf blend membrane for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Abstract

The recent studies focused on the blend membranes to a great extent due to their capability of gathering some important polymer characteristic features. In this survey, boron phosphate (BP) doped sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone)/Poly (vinylidene fluoride) (SPEEK/PVDF) blend membrane having high ionic conduction capability was synthesized. The boron phosphate doping to the membrane matrix enhanced the membrane properties in terms of proton exchange membrane conditions. The sol-gel and casting method was used to synthesise the SPEEK/PVDF blend membrane. The characterization tests to observe the structure of the membrane, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), FT-IR and mechanical/thermal stability tests were conducted. The membrane ionic transportation and water retention were improved directly by the addition of boron phosphate. The highest power density (242 mW cm−2) and current density (400 mA cm−2) at 0.6 V were obtained by SPEEK/PVDF/10BP, respectively. Additionally, the proton conductivity value of 39 mS cm−1 was obtained for SPEEK/PVDF/10BP sample at 80 °C. The authors concluded that both boron phosphate additive and SPEEK/PVDF blend membrane have promising results for fuel cell future operations.