Poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)/ionic liquid functionalized graphene oxide anion exchange membranes for fuel cells

Abstract

To improve the overall performance of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) for fuel cells, a series of composite AEMs was prepared via a facile approach using ionic liquid-functionalized graphene oxide (IL-GO) and imidazolium-functionalized poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (ImPPO). The prepared ImPPO/IL-GO-0.5% (0.5% refers to the weight percentage of IL-GO) membranes with an ionic exchange capacity (IEC) of 1.9 meq g−1 achieved a hydroxide conductivity of 78.5 mS cm−1. The high conductivity of ImPPO/IL-GO-0.5% is due to the fact that the ionic cluster size of composite membranes (3.43–3.58 nm) is larger than that of the pristine membrane (3.30 nm). The ionic cluster morphology is confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Moreover, the AEMs retained approximately 70% of their initial hydroxide conductivity after the alkaline stability test in a 2 M aqueous NaOH at 80 °C for 480 h, indicating a good alkaline stability. A single cell using ImPPO/IL-GO-0.5% exhibits a peak power density of 136 mW cm−2 at 60 °C under 100% related humidity, thereby having a great potential for fuel cells.