Nanophase Structure and Performances of Proton-Exchange Membranes Based on Perfluorinated Sulfonic Acid Ionomer and Carboxylated Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)
Wenshuo Wang
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Data curation (lead), Formal analysis (lead), Investigation (lead), Methodology (lead), Software (lead), Visualization (lead), Writing - original draft (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorShanshan Gao
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Contribution: Data curation (supporting), Formal analysis (supporting), Investigation (supporting), Validation (supporting)
Search for more papers by this authorDayang Yu
Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, Quzhou, China
Contribution: Data curation (supporting), Formal analysis (supporting), Investigation (supporting)
Search for more papers by this authorPengju Pan
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, Quzhou, China
Contribution: Supervision (supporting), Validation (supporting)
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Yongzhong Bao
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, Quzhou, China
Correspondence:
Yongzhong Bao ([email protected])
Contribution: Conceptualization (supporting), Funding acquisition (lead), Methodology (supporting), Project administration (lead), Supervision (lead), Writing - review & editing (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorWenshuo Wang
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Data curation (lead), Formal analysis (lead), Investigation (lead), Methodology (lead), Software (lead), Visualization (lead), Writing - original draft (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorShanshan Gao
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Contribution: Data curation (supporting), Formal analysis (supporting), Investigation (supporting), Validation (supporting)
Search for more papers by this authorDayang Yu
Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, Quzhou, China
Contribution: Data curation (supporting), Formal analysis (supporting), Investigation (supporting)
Search for more papers by this authorPengju Pan
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, Quzhou, China
Contribution: Supervision (supporting), Validation (supporting)
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Yongzhong Bao
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, Quzhou, China
Correspondence:
Yongzhong Bao ([email protected])
Contribution: Conceptualization (supporting), Funding acquisition (lead), Methodology (supporting), Project administration (lead), Supervision (lead), Writing - review & editing (lead)
Search for more papers by this authorFunding: This work was supported by the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province (2019C01092).
ABSTRACT
Proton-exchange membranes (PEMs) with high proton conductivity and low methanol uptake would find potential application in direct methanol fuel cells. Herein, PEMs based on perfluorinated sulfonic acid ionomer (PFSA) and carboxylated poly(vinyl alcohol) (CPVA) were prepared by in situ acetalization of poly(vinyl alcohol) with 4-carboxybenzaldehyde and casting of PFSA/CPVA dispersions. Effects of acetalization degree of CPVA on the hydrogen-bond action, phase structure, and properties of PEMs have been investigated. The water domains for proton conduction are formed mainly through the aggregation of sulfonic acid groups of PFSA, uncrosslinked remained hydroxyl, and additional carboxyl groups of CPVA, while the hydrophobic domains are formed through the aggregation of fluorocarbon chains of PFSA, PVA-PVA hydrogen bonds, and actually acetalized CPVA units. PEM containing CPVA with an acetalization degree of 30% exhibits good comprehensive performances, that is, much lower methanol uptake, similar proton conductivity (150.4 mS cm−1 at 80°C and 100% relative humidity), and single-cell performance (43.0 mW cm−2 at 80°C) to PFSA membrane. In addition to the competitive performances, the modified PEM exhibits reduced cost due to the incorporation of cheap PVA-based polymer.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
The data used to support the findings of this study will be available from the corresponding author upon request.
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