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Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/sulfonated polyhedral oligosilsesquioxane (sPOSS) hybrid membranes for direct methanol fuel cell applications
Author(s) -
Chang YoungWook,
Wang Erdong,
Shin Geumsig,
Han JungEun,
Mather Patrick T.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
polymers for advanced technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1581
pISSN - 1042-7147
DOI - 10.1002/pat.913
Subject(s) - vinyl alcohol , membrane , methanol , materials science , nafion , direct methanol fuel cell , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , thermal stability , permeation , sulfonic acid , proton exchange membrane fuel cell , ion exchange , methanol fuel , polymer , organic chemistry , ion , chemistry , electrochemistry , composite material , electrode , biochemistry , anode , engineering
Abstract Organic/inorganic hybrid membranes based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and sulfonated polyhedral oligosilsesquioxane (sPOSS), crosslinked by ethylenediaminetetraacetic dianhydride (EDTAD), were prepared as candidate materials for proton exchange membranes in direct methanel fuel cell (DMFC) applications. Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy and ion exchange capacity measurements for the prepared networks clearly revealed sPOSS incorporation. We found that proton conductivity increased and methanol permeability decreased with increasing sPOSS content in the hybrid membrane. In particular, our hybrid membranes demonstrated proton conductivities as high as 0.042 S/cm, which is comparable to that of Nafion™, while exhibiting two orders of magnitude lower methanol permeability as compared to Nafion™. We postulate that the polar sulfonic acid groups of the incorporated sPOSS cages assemble to provide ion conduction paths while the hydrophobic portions of the same sPOSS cages combine to form a barrier to methanol permeation with improved thermal stability of the hybrid membrane. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.