Effect of Sulfonation of SEBS Copolymer on the physicochemical properties of Proton Exchange Membrane

摘要

In this work, proton exchange membranes were prepared using SEBS copolymer, for application in a fuel cell. The SEBS copolymer was modified with the addition of a TiO2 load to prepare sulfonated and unmodified membranes. The sulfonated?loaded membrane exhibited higher values of water absorption (16%) and ion exchange capacity (1.13 meq/g) due to a significant increase in porosity, which increased the surface area and facilitated the ion exchange phenomenon by the formation of complexes between the sulfuric acid and TiO2; however, the low stability of the membrane prevented the applications of impedance and mechanical testing. The membranes were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), to check the modification of the SEBS; however, there were no bands that will determine the presence of TiO2 in the copolymer.