Abstract
In this work, we reported a novel proton exchange membrane (PEM) with an ion-conducting pathway. The hierarchical nanofiber structure was prepared via in situ self-assembling 1,3:2,4-dibenzylidene-d-sorbitol (DBS) supramolecular fibrils on solution-blown, sulfonated poly (ether sulfone) (SPES) nanofiber, after which the composite PEM was prepared by incorporating hierarchical nanofiber into the chitosan polymer matrix. Then, the effects of incorporating the hierarchical nanofiber structure on the thermal stability, water uptake, dimensional stability, proton conductivity, and methanol permeability of the composite membranes were investigated. The results show that incorporation of hierarchical nanofiber improves the water uptake, proton conductivity, and methanol permeability of the membranes. Furthermore, the composite membrane with 50% hierarchical nanofibers exhibited the highest proton conductivity of 0.115 S cm−1 (80 °C), which was 69.12% higher than the values of pure chitosan membrane. The self-assembly allows us to generate hierarchical nanofiber among the interfiber voids, and this structure can provide potential benefits for the preparation of high-performance PEMs.
Highlights
Nowadays, the direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are considered as one of the promising green, reliable, and efficient power sources for portable and automotive applications due to their direct conversion of chemical energy to electricity [1]
The composite proton exchange membrane (PEM) based on nanofiber have attracted great attention due to the following reasons: (i) The nanofiber can act primarily as a mechanical support; (ii) the interactions between the functional nanofiber’s surface and matrix components can induce the formation of low-energy-barrier proton-hopping pathways [6]; (iii) and the nanofiber usually acts as a physical barrier layer to increase the tortuosity for fuel [7]
We investigated the effects of different nanofiber, including sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) [10], SiO2 [11], and poly(vinylidene fluoride) [12] on the performance of Nafion
Summary
The direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are considered as one of the promising green, reliable, and efficient power sources for portable and automotive applications due to their direct conversion of chemical energy to electricity [1]. Alternatives to polymer membranes have been developed. Among these methods, the composite PEMs based on nanofiber have attracted great attention due to the following reasons: (i) The nanofiber can act primarily as a mechanical support; (ii) the interactions between the functional nanofiber’s surface and matrix components can induce the formation of low-energy-barrier proton-hopping pathways [6]; (iii) and the nanofiber usually acts as a physical barrier layer to increase the tortuosity for fuel [7].
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