Synthesis and Characterisation of Chitosan-Cellulose Biocomposite Membrane for Fuel Cell Applications

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) offer a high degree of design flexibility, ranging from a single cell to a massive multi‐cell that can be used in various applications, including portable devices, transportation, and stationary applications. Unfortunately, the most significant barrier to the commercialization of DEFCs is getting low‐cost and ethanol permeability, high conductivity performance, and extended durability of polymer electrolyte membranes, as key components that highly influence the overall performance. In this paper, the recent progress in developing the polymer electrolyte membrane for the application of DEFCs has been comprehensively reviewed. Focusing on an updated modification of polymeric materials in the last 5 years, including Nafion‐based membrane, polyvinyl alcohol‐based membrane, polybenzimidazoles‐based membrane, chitosan‐based membrane, and sodium alginate‐based membrane, as well as factors and challenges that affected the performance of polymer electrolyte membranes have been discussed, including the main characterization, catalyst selection, cell design, and work in membrane and cell performance of DEFCs. All discussion addresses the strategy to improve the performance of polymer electrolyte membranes in DEFCs in order to penetrate the commercialization stages.

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Simple and low‐cost preparation of functionalised graphene by microwave expansion combined with ball milling grafting

Zhang,

Wang,

Bao

et al. 2024

Polymer Composites

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The preparation of functionalised graphene often involves consuming significant amounts of organic solvents, complicated steps, and expensive equipment. This study presented a simple, low‐cost, and efficient method for preparing well‐dispersed functionalised graphene. This method involved the microwave heating of commercial graphene precursors and ball milling of grafted expanded graphite, resulting in a short and straightforward preparation process without requiring large amounts of organic solvents. This process enabled the preparation of few‐layer graphene with a thickness of only 3.5 ± 0.5 nm. During this process, the majority of the surface oxygen‐containing groups were replaced by polyetheramine (D2000) at a grafting rate of up to 5.14%, which improved the interface adhesion strength between the graphene and the epoxy resin. The fabricated altered graphene notably enhanced the mechanical characteristics of the epoxy resin., that is, the toughening effect reached up to 171% with a graphene content of only 0.3 wt%, while the Young's modulus and tensile strength values increased by 54% and 39%, respectively. This process is cost‐effective, easy to operate, and highly efficient, making it suitable for the large‐scale production of well‐dispersed functionalised graphene.Highlights Pioneers mechanical chemical energy in graphene, a new materials science direction. First ball milling on microwave graphene, merging milling benefits with graphene. Ball milling cuts D2000 grafting time on graphene, boosting efficiency. Reduces organic solvent use, cutting costs and environmental effects. Ball milling lowers costs and impacts, aiding graphene material commercia‐lization.

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Synthesis and Characterisation of Chitosan-Cellulose Biocomposite Membrane for Fuel Cell Applications

Cited by 9 publications

References 14 publications

Nanocomposite Membranes for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Nanocomposite Membranes for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Polymer electrolyte membrane modification in direct ethanol fuel cells: An update

Simple and low‐cost preparation of functionalised graphene by microwave expansion combined with ball milling grafting

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