Application of 2D nanomaterial MXene in anion exchange membranes for alkaline fuel cells: Improving ionic conductivity and power density

摘要

Two types of new 2D MXenes (LiF-Ti(3)C(2)T(x )and NH4HF2-Ti3C2Tx) were prepared by selective etching of Ti3C2Tx with LiF/HCl and NH4HF2 aqueous solutions, respectively, and they were introduced as nanofillers into quaternized polysulfone/polyquaternium-10 (QPSU/PQ10) anion exchange membranes (AEMs) with semi-interpenetrating polymer network, thereby preparing two types of MXene-doped QPSU/PQ-10 AEMs. The resulting MXenedoped QPSU/PQ-10 AEMs have obvious nanoscale microphase-separated morphologies, and their ionic conductivity and power density are significantly improved compared with the pristine QPSU/PQ-10 AEM. Among them, the ionic conductivity and power density of NH4HF2-Ti3C2Tx MXene-doped AEM can reach 88.76 mS/cm at 80 ? and 106.28 mW/cm(2) at 60 ?, respectively, which are 26.3 and 37.5 higher than those of the pristine QPSU/PQ10 AEM. Additionally, the MXene-doped QPSU/PQ-10 AEMs with semi-interpenetrating network have moderate water uptake and swelling ratio, excellent thermal and mechanical properties, as well as good oxidation resistance and alkaline stability, which can meet the application requirements of AEMs for fuel cells, exhibiting their bright application prospects in fuel cells.(c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.