Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/zirconium
tricarboxybutylphosphonate composite proton-exchange membranes for
direct methanol fuel cells

doi:10.1007/s11705-008-0012-5

2008, Vol. 2

Issue (1) : 95-101 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-008-0012-5

Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/zirconium tricarboxybutylphosphonate composite proton-exchange membranes for direct methanol fuel cells

GAO Qijun, HUANG Mianyan, WANG Yuxin, CAI Yuquan, XU Li

State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering Research Center, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University;

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Abstract Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) is a very promising alternative membrane material for direct methanol fuel cells. However, with a fairly high degree of sulfonation (DS), SPEEK membranes can swell excessively and even dissolve at high temperature. This restricts membranes from working above a high tolerable temperature to get high proton conductivity. To deal with this contradictory situation, insolvable zirconium tricarboxybutylphosphonate (Zr(PBTC)) powder was employed to make a composite with SPEEK polymer in an attempt to improve temperature tolerance of the membranes. SPEEK/Zr(PBTC) composite membranes were obtained by casting a homogeneous mixture of Zr(PBTC) and SPEEK in N,N-dimethylacetamide on a glass plate and then evaporating the solvent at 60°C. Many characteristics were investigated, including thermal stability, liquid uptake, methanol permeability and proton conductivity. Results showed significant improvement not only in temperature tolerance, but also in methanol resistance of the SPEEK/Zr(PBTC) composite membranes. The membranes containing 30 wt-% ∼ 40 wt-% of Zr(PBTC) had their methanol permeability around 10^-7 cm²·s^-1 at room temperature to 80°C, which was one order of magnitude lower than that of Nafion^¯115. High proton conductivity of the composite membranes, however, could also be achieved from higher temperature applied. At 100% relative humidity, above 90°C the conductivity of the composite membrane containing 40 wt-% of Zr(PBTC) exceeded that of the Nafion^¯115 membrane and even reached a high value of 0.36 S·cm^-1 at 160°C. Improved applicable temperature and high conductivity of the composite membrane indicated its promising application in DMFC operations at high temperature.

Issue Date: 05 March 2008

Cite this article:

HUANG Mianyan,GAO Qijun,XU Li, et al. Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/zirconium tricarboxybutylphosphonate composite proton-exchange membranes for direct methanol fuel cells[J]. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng., 2008, 2(1): 95-101.

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https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/10.1007/s11705-008-0012-5
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/Y2008/V2/I1/95

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