Polímeros (Jul 2018)

Nafion/sulfonated poly(indene) polyelectrolyte membranes for fuel cell application

  • Jeanne Leticia da Silva Marques,
  • Ana Paula Soares Zanatta,
  • Mariska Hattenberger,
  • Maria Madalena de Camargo Forte

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-1428.02717
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 28, no. 4
pp. 293 – 301

Abstract

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Abstract Sulfonated poly(indene) (SPInd), with 35% and 45% degree of sulfonation, was blended with Nafion to prepare blended membranes with 10, 15 and 20 wt.% of SPInd. Membranes were evaluated by infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Water uptake (WU), ion exchange capacity (IEC) and through-plane proton conductivity were measured. The membranes presented similar thermal stability to Nafion. WU was slightly higher for Nafion/SPInd membranes (19-21% at RT and 40-44% at 90 °C) compared with recast Nafion (16% and 34%, respectively), and IEC values showed a similar trend. Blended Nafion membranes had increased proton conductivity of 2.41 x 10-2 and 2.37 x 10-2 Scm-1 (20 wt. % of SPInd 35% and 45%, respectively), compared with 1.16 x 10-2 Scm-1 for recast Nafion. The results show that the addition of SPInd to Nafion is a potential route towards improving the performance of Nafion in proton conductivity for use in fuel cells devices.

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