Effect of pore-directing agents in SBA-15 nanoparticles on the performance of Nafion®/SBA-15n composite membranes for DMFC
Journal
Journal of Membrane Science
Journal Volume
526
Pages
106-117
Date Issued
2017
Author(s)
Abstract
Nanoparticles of 2D hexagonal mesoporous SBA-15 silica were prepared for the first time and mixed in Nafion®to form composite membranes by solvent casting method. The SBA-15 nanoparticles containing P123 surfactant (S-SBA-15n) and that extracted with ethanol (Ex-SBA-15n) were used as the inorganic fillers in order to see the effect of pore-directing agent on the performance of resultant composite membranes. The physico-chemical properties of SBA-15 nanoparticles were examined with powder XRD, N2sorption, TGA and SEM. The methanol permeability, proton conductivity, and cell performance of the resultant composite membranes were compared in terms of the content of SBA-15 nanoparticles and whether the pore-directing agent was removed. The optimal proton conductivities were obtained for the composite membranes with 5 wt% loading of SBA-15 nano-particles. Moreover, the P123 pore-directing agent present inside the pores of S-SBA-15n was found to effectively resist methanol permeation from anode to cathode and also assist the proton transferring. The single cell assembled with 5 wt% S-SBA-15n/Nafion composite membrane gave the highest power density of 117 mW cm−2at 60 °C, which was about 80% higher than the cell with recast Nafion membrane and also 23% higher than that with commercial membrane of Nafion®117.
Type
journal article