Abstract
A novel sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/triphenylamine hybrid membrane with various triphenylamine loadings (1%, 2% and 5%) has been successfully fabricated. Optimum triphenylamine loading was confirmed by exploring the physicochemical properties and morphology of different membranes. The hybrid membrane exhibited lower vanadium permeability than pristine SPEEK membranes due to the acid–base interaction between amine groups and sulfonated groups. Introduction of triphenylamine also improved the proton conductivity because the nitrogen atom of triphenylamine can be protonated and contribute to the proton transfer. As the result, the hybrid membrane demonstrated higher ion selectivity compared with SPEEK and Nafion115 membranes. The VRFB single cell with SPEEK/TPAM-1% membrane showed better performance compared to a Nafion115 membrane at the current density of 60 mA cm−2. The SPEEK/TPAM hybrid membrane has great potential for VRFB application.
Highlights
As a large-scale energy storage technology, the redox ow battery (RFB) has unique characteristics, such as long cycle-life, high efficiency and environmental friendliness.[1,2,3] Among various types of RFB technologies, the vanadium redox ow battery (VRFB) uses the same material in both half-cells, which avoids cross-contamination of the two half-cells' electrolytes and provides the electrolytes with potentially unlimited life
The sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK)/TPAM membrane was made by the traditional solution casting method.23 1.5 g SPEEK was dissolved into 10 mL DMAC and the TPAM was dissolved into the solution
The VRFB single cell was assembled by sandwiching a membrane with 5 cm  5 cm effective area, using two pieces of 5 mm thickness graphite felt as electrodes, and two graphite polar plates and two copper foils as current collectors. 40 mL of 1.5 mol LÀ1 V3.5+ in 3 mol H2SO4 solution acted as the positive and negative electrolyte, respectively
Summary
As a large-scale energy storage technology, the redox ow battery (RFB) has unique characteristics, such as long cycle-life, high efficiency and environmental friendliness.[1,2,3] Among various types of RFB technologies, the vanadium redox ow battery (VRFB) uses the same material in both half-cells, which avoids cross-contamination of the two half-cells' electrolytes and provides the electrolytes with potentially unlimited life. The properties of PEM determine the performance of VRFB, so that the ideal PEM is required to possess better chemical stability, high ion selectivity, low cost and excellent mechanical strength.[8,9] The most commonly used commercial membrane is Dupont's Na on® membrane, which exhibits high proton conductivity and outstanding chemical stability.[10] high price and high vanadium permeability limit its further application.[11] the alternative PEM of VRFB needs to be explored. The properties and corresponding VRFB cell performance of the hybrid membrane were investigated
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