Unprecedented sulphonated poly(ether ether ketone)–bismuth cobalt zinc oxide composites: physicochemical and electrochemical performance in fuel cell

Abstract

Advanced polymer composite membranes were prepared from a linear sulphonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) with bismuth cobalt zinc oxide [BCZO, (Bi2O3)0.07(CoO)0.03(ZnO)0.90] nanopowder as an inorganic additive for the application of H2–O2 fuel cell. Morphological data tend to provide evidences for the incorporation of BCZO into SPEEK polymer. Indeed, the composite membrane loaded with 7.5 wt.% of BCZO was identified to uptake maximum water, whilst the pristine SPEEK membrane occurred to retain only 24.0%. As such SPEEK matrix loaded with 7.5 wt.% of BCZO was found to exhibit the maximum proton conductivity of 0.030 S cm−1, whereas the pristine membrane was restricted to 0.021 S cm−1. Evidently, TGA profile of the composite membrane was measured to exhibit sufficient thermal stability to employ as the electrolyte in fuel cell. The membrane electrode assembly of pristine SPEEK and SP-BCZO-7.5 wt.% membranes were fabricated and studied for their electrochemical performance. Indeed, the characteristics of those newly developed composite membranes led to possess incredible feature towards the fuel cell applications.