A Sulfonated Polyimide/Nafion Blend Membrane with High Proton Selectivity and Remarkable Stability for Vanadium Redox Flow Battery

Jinchao Li; Jun Liu; Wenjie Xu; Jun Long; Wenheng Huang; Zhen He; Suqin Liu; Yaping Zhang

doi:10.3390/membranes11120946

Membranes (Nov 2021)

A Sulfonated Polyimide/Nafion Blend Membrane with High Proton Selectivity and Remarkable Stability for Vanadium Redox Flow Battery

Jinchao Li,
Jun Liu,
Wenjie Xu,
Jun Long,
Wenheng Huang,
Zhen He,
Suqin Liu,
Yaping Zhang

Affiliations

Jinchao Li: State Key Laboratory of Environment-Friendly Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Jun Liu: State Key Laboratory of Environment-Friendly Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Wenjie Xu: State Key Laboratory of Environment-Friendly Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Jun Long: State Key Laboratory of Environment-Friendly Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Wenheng Huang: State Key Laboratory of Environment-Friendly Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China
Zhen He: College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Suqin Liu: College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Yaping Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Environment-Friendly Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11120946
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 11, no. 12
p. 946

Abstract

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A sulfonated polyimide (SPI)/Nafion blend membrane composed of a designed and synthesized SPI polymer and the commercial Nafion polymer is prepared by a facile solution casting method for vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). Similar molecular structures of both SPI and Nafion provide good compatibility and complementarity of the blend membrane. ATR-FTIR, 1H-NMR, AFM, and SEM are used to gain insights on the chemical structure and morphology of the blend membrane. Fortunately, the chemical stability of the SPI/Nafion blend membrane is effectively improved compared with reported SPI-based membranes for VRFB applications. In cycling charge-discharge tests, the VRFB with the as-prepared SPI/Nafion blend membrane shows excellent battery efficiencies and operational stability. Above results indicate that the SPI/Nafion blend membrane is a promising candidate for VRFB application. This work opens up a new possibility for fabricating high-performance SPI-based blend membrane by introduction of a polymer with a similar molecular structure and special functional groups into the SPI polymer.

Published in Membranes

ISSN: 2077-0375 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Technology: Chemical technology: Chemical engineering
Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/membranes

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