Studies on Glass Fiber-Reinforced Poly(Ethylene-Grafted-Styrene)-Based Cation Exchange Membrane Composite.

Di Huang,Jiann-Yang Hwang,Zhichao Chen

doi:10.3390/ma13245597

Di Huang, Jiann-Yang Hwang + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13245597

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Abstract

To improve interfacial adhesion between glass fiber (GF) and poly(ethylene-grafted-styrene)-based cation exchange membranes (CEM), GF was modified by four coupling agents: [3-(Methacryloxy)propyl] trimethoxy silane (3-MPS), 1,6-bis (trimethoxysilyl) hexane (1,6 bis), Poly(propylene-graft-maleic anhydride) (PP-g-MA) and Triethoxyvinylsilane (TES). The results indicated the addition of modified GF increased tensile strength, tensile modulus, storage modulus and interfacial adhesion of GF/CEM composite but degraded the strains. The composite with 3-MPS modified GF obtained superior mechanical properties and interfacial adhesion, whereas the modified effect of TES was inconspicuous. The addition of unmodified GF even had negative effects on GF/CEM mechanical properties. The field emission scanning electron microscopes (FE-SEM) showed that the GF treated by 3-MPS and PP-g-MA have better compatibility with the CEM matrix than 1,6 bis and TES-treated GF. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) verified that the strengthening effects from modified GF were attributed to the formation of Si-O-Si and Si-O-C bonds. The additions of modified GF in CEM positively influence water uptake ability but negatively influence ion exchange capacity (IEC). This research provided a way of strengthening GF/CEM composite and pointed out which functional groups included in coupling agents could be useful to GF-reinforced composite.

Highlights

Over recent decades, there has been renewed interest in developing high-performance ion exchange membranes, which play important roles in various industrial applications, such as fuel cell, desalination and wastewater treatment [1,2,3,4,5]
This research provided a way of strengthening glass fiber (GF)/cation exchange membranes (CEM) composite and pointed out which functional groups included in coupling agents could be useful to GF-reinforced composite
The effects of various coupling agents on mechanical properties of glass fiber/cation fiber/cation exchange exchange membrane membrane (GF/CEM) composite are illustrated in Figures 2 and 3

Summary

Introduction

There has been renewed interest in developing high-performance ion exchange membranes, which play important roles in various industrial applications, such as fuel cell, desalination and wastewater treatment [1,2,3,4,5]. Ion exchange membranes are composed of inert polymers such as polyethylene, polyvinylidene fluoride and polyvinylchloride [6,7,8,9], and reactive polymers such as polystyrene and polysulfone that can be functionalized by ionic groups [8,10]. The desired properties of ion exchange membranes are determined by the inert backbone polymers, reactive polymers and methods to combine them. Homogeneous ion exchange membranes have wide applications due to the excellent electrochemical performance [11]. During the long service life, homogenous ion exchange membranes cannot maintain the desirable mechanical properties and structural stability in the harsh environment, such as plating wastewater, which requires the high structural and chemical stability for the membranes [12]. The studies of improving mechanical properties and microstructure stability of ion exchange membranes have

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