Study on the Morphology and Fuel Cell Characteristics of a Modified Chitosan Membrane for Fuel Cell Application

摘要

Development and characterization of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) using low cost Chitosan were carried out by blending with sulphonated zirconium oxide, and assessed for its potential to serve as possible polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) application. Synthesized membranes were thus characterized by scan electron microscope (SEM) to define the morphology of the membrane. Fourier Transform Infra-red (FR-ER.) to confirm the presence of functional groups. Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) were used to verify the thermal stability of the membrane. Membrane water uptake was used to investigate the porosity and swelling ability of the membrane, while impedance spectroscopy was used to measure the proton conductivity of the membrane. The permeability of the membrane was determined using a diffusion cell that was developed at Vaal University of Technology.