Sulfonated-nanocomposites incorporated Polybenzimidazole based Polymer Electrolyte Membranes for Fuel Cells

摘要

Polybenzimidazole based PEMs have become an important part of research into medium and high temperature PEMFCs. In order for this membrane to function at a high capacity, it must however be impregnated with a strong acid to increase its proton conductivity. The addition of this acid into the polymer leads to a decrease in mechanical stability of the polymer. An alternate way of circumventing this problem is through the incorporation of acid-functionalized titania nanocomposites. As such acid functionalized nanotubular material was incorporated into the ABPBI polymer matrix and the properties of the membrane were studied. IEC valued showed a marked increase in the availability of ions for transport in functionalized nanocomposites over unfunctionalised nanocomposites and lead to an increase in the conductivity by one order. Morphological as well as electrical, thermal and mechanical properties of these membranes were studied.