Abstract
The present study deals with the fabrication of nanocomposite membrane by incorporation of modified (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane treated silicon oxide (APTES-SiO2) within poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) matrix. Further, this nanocomposite membrane was treated with chlorosulfonic acid in order to incorporate the hydrophilic sulfonated (-SO3H) group within the membrane structure. The successful incorporation of nanoparticles within the host polymer structure as well as the sulfonation of the nanocomposite membranes were confirmed from FTIR, NMR and XPS studies respectively. The enhanced ion exchange capacity (0.6 meq g−1) and proton conductivity (9.4 × 10−2 S cm−1) indicate the potentiality of the membranes in fuel cell applications. Further, the greater conductivities of the membranes at high temperature indicates their suitability for performing at high temperature surroundings. The membranes displayed suppressed methanol crossover (50.21% lower as compared to Nafion) leading to more than one-fold higher membrane selectivity thus signifying a potential alternative to Nafion for fuel cell applications.
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