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Thermodynamic study of the sulphonation of polystyrene‐butadiene rubber with chlorosulphonic acid for proton exchange membrane fuel cell
Author(s) -
Idibie C. A.,
Abdulkareem A. S.,
Pienaar H. C. vZ.,
Iyuke S. E.,
vanDyk L.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.32113
Subject(s) - gibbs free energy , enthalpy , natural rubber , polystyrene , chemistry , methanol , thermodynamics , conductivity , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , materials science , organic chemistry , polymer , physics , engineering
The thermodynamic study of the sulphonation of polystyrene‐butadiene rubber (PSBR) with chlorosulphonic acid for fuel cell application was carried out. This was done to understand the properties of the sulphonation process in terms of the change in enthalpy (Δ H ), entropy (Δ S ), and the Gibbs free energy (Δ G ) relative to product stability. The Δ H 0 , Δ S 0 , and Δ G 0 were found to be 40.708 kJ, 64.22 J K −1 , and 22.916 kJ, respectively, indicating that the reaction is not thermodynamically favorable (though nonsponteneous) where products are less favored compared to reactants which thus required energy. However, at elevated temperature (>328 K), a phase change from liquid to solid was encountered which suggests that the optimum temperature to carry out the sulphonation of PSBR in chlorosulphonic acid should be within 328 K. Results obtained also revealed that the sulphonation time influenced the qualities such as, proton conductivity, degree of sulphonation, and methanol permeability of the sulphonated PSBR. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010