Preparation and properties of chitosan/acidified attapulgite composite proton exchange membranes for fuel cell applications

Abstract

A composite proton exchange membrane chitosan (CS)/attapulgite (ATP) was prepared with the organic–inorganic compounding of ATP and CS. The composite membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The mechanical properties, thermal stability, water uptake, and proton conductivity of the composite membranes were fully investigated. The composite membranes exhibited an enhanced mechanical property, dimensional and thermal stability compared to CS membrane, owing to the interface interaction between ATP and CS. The maximum tensile strength of 53.1 MPa and decomposition temperature of 223.4°C was obtained, respectively. More importantly, the proton conductivity of the composite membrane is also enhanced, the composite membrane with 4 wt% ATP content (CS/ATP‐4) exhibited the highest proton conductivity of 26.2 mS cm−1 at 80°C with 100% relative humidity, which is 25.1% higher than pure CS membrane. These results may explore a simple and green strategy to prepare CS‐based PEMs, which have a great potential in the application of proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

Acid–base core–shell microspheres are incorporated into proton exchange membranes to effectively alleviate the rapid decline in proton conductivity at low humidity

“…Similar results have been observed in reports on numerous other composite polymer membranes. 39 –41 The enhanced mechanical properties can be attributed to the strong electrostatic interaction between the SPEEK and PCSMs-MA@TAC surfaces. In particular, the addition of PCSMs-MA@TAC will effectively inhibit the migration of polymer chains, so the breaking elongation of the composite membrane decreases with the increase of PCSMs-MA@TAC, which is also consistent with the results obtained by DSC.…”

The Construction and Application of Dual‐Modified Carbon Nanotubes in Proton Exchange Membranes with Enhanced Performances

“…The pristine CS membrane shows the T g value of 204 °C, which is close to other reported values of CS. [36,37] In comparison of pure CS, the T g values of composite membranes increased gradually with the increasing of SSiO 2 @CNTs from 1 to 7 wt%, and the CS/SSiO 2 @CNTs-7 shows the highest T g value of 215 °C. This enhancement is mainly due to the hydrogen bonding and electrostatic attractions between -SO 3 H in SSiO 2 @CNTs and -OH, -NH 2 groups in CS matrix, which can restrict the mobility of CS molecular chains and lead to the formation of more compact polymer matrix.…”

Improving proton conductivity and ionic selectivity of porous polyolefin membranes by chitosan deposition

“…It is widely used for surface modification of materials for: filtration, catalytic and gas separation membranes, porous matrices for electrolyte in electrochemical power sources, biomedical application. [17][18][19][20] Chitosan demonstrates high stability in electrochemical power sources and is considered to be a possible material for separator modification for VRFBs. 21,22 Previously, the possibility of the deposition of chitosan from aqueous carbonic acid solution (formed in water saturated with supercritical or subcritical carbon dioxide) was shown.…”

“…Chitosan is produced from a naturally‐occurring chitin with sufficient chemical stability and a low cost. It is widely used for surface modification of materials for: filtration, catalytic and gas separation membranes, porous matrices for electrolyte in electrochemical power sources, biomedical application 17–20 . Chitosan demonstrates high stability in electrochemical power sources and is considered to be a possible material for separator modification for VRFBs 21,22 .…”