Novel sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone)/silica coated carbon nanotubes high‐performance composite membranes for direct methanol fuel cell

The major risk of using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to modify proton exchange membranes (PEMs) in fuel cells is possible short‐circuiting due to the excellent electrical conductivity of CNTs. In this article, silica‐coated CNTs (SiO₂@CNTs) were successfully prepared by a simple sol–gel process and then used as a new additive in the preparation of sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK)‐based composite membranes. The insulated and hydrophilic silica coated on the surface of CNTs not only eliminated the risk of short‐circuiting, but also enhanced the interfacial interaction between CNTs and SPEEK, and hence promoted the homogeneous dispersion of CNTs in the SPEEK matrix. Moreover, compared to the methanol permeability of the pure SPEEK membrane (3.42 × 10^?7 cm² s^?1), the SPEEK/SiO₂@CNT composite membrane with a SiO₂@CNT loading of 5 wt% exhibits almost one order of magnitude decrease of methanol crossover, while the proton conductivity still remained above 10^?2 S cm^?1 at room temperature. The obtained results expose the possibility of SPEEK/SiO₂@CNT membranes to be served as high‐performance PEMs in direct methanol fuel cells. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi-interpenetrating polymer networks toward sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membranes for high concentration direct methanol fuel cell

Semi-IPNs were constructed by forming the crosslinking networks via the reaction between BPPO and diamine cross-linkers to overcome the dimensional swelling and methanol-permeation issues of SPEEK.     

磺化聚醚醚酮与壳聚糖共混制备直接甲醇燃料电池用质子交换膜

给出了不同磺化度下的磺化聚醚醚酮(SPEEK)用作质子交换膜的一系列性能,另外提出了一种新型的酸碱共混质子交换膜,其中,磺化聚醚醚酮和壳聚糖分别被选为酸性、碱性高分子电解质,并对所制备的质子交换膜的相关性能如质子传导性,甲醇渗透性,吸水率以及膜溶胀性、热稳定性等进行了表征,结果表明此种新型复合膜尽管在质子传导性能方面有所下降,阻醇性能改变不大,但是膜溶胀性和吸水率方面有了较大的改善.磺化度为71.4%的SPEEK与壳聚糖以5∶1摩尔比共混制备的质子交换膜,其性质可以与商品化的Nafion 117相媲美,有望在甲醇燃料电池中得到应用.     

Structural and transport phenomena of urocanate-based proton carrier in sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membrane composite

Proton transport is one of crucial phenomena in electrolytic part highly considered to overcome a limit in fuel cell efficiency improvement. Proton conducting organic electrolyte was modeled and simulated at atomistic level of calculation by doping of butyl urocanate (C4U), a composite material with imidazole substructure, with sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) amorphous membrane at various working temperature. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to investigate structural and dynamics characteristic of C4U in the membrane comparing with the SPEEK-hydronium membrane model as a control. From simulations, thermal effect on water and proton carriers cluster surrounding the sulfonate groups was explored. At higher temperature, the more transport dynamics of C4U ions in SPEEK membranes were found than that of hydronium ions in the control system. Likewise, phase separation of hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts was taken into consideration here. A critical role of the enhancing proton conductivity by increasing the diffusion coefficient at temperature beyond C4U melting point in composite polymer membrane was emphasized. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 1625–1635     

磺化聚芳醚酮砜/聚吡咯复合型直接甲醇燃料电池用质子交换膜的制备与性能研究

以高磺化度的磺化聚芳醚酮砜(SPAEKS)和吡咯(Py)为原料,通过原位聚合的方法制备了含有不同吡咯含量的SPAEKS/PPy复合膜.红外谱图表明SPAEKS聚合物中的磺酸基团与聚吡咯(PPy)中的亚氨基基团之间形成了强烈的相互作用.扫描电镜照片显示PPy能够均匀地分散在SPAEKS聚合物基体中,没有发生团聚现象.通过对复合膜的性能测试发现PPy的引入提高了复合膜的热稳定性,降低了复合膜的吸水率,改善了其水溶胀性.同时膜中水的脱附系数下降,提高了膜的保水能力.SPAEKS/PPy-3复合膜的甲醇渗透系数达到了1.18×10-7cm2/s,明显低于纯SPAEKS膜的8.52×10-7cm2/s,而其质子传导率虽有所降低,但在25℃和80℃仍然分别达到了0.039S/cm和0.061S/cm,能够满足质子交换膜对质子传导率的要求.研究结果表明,聚吡咯与SPAEKS中磺酸基的摩尔比为0.99的复合膜有望在直接甲醇燃料电池中得到应用.     

Sulfonated montmorillonite/sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SMMT/SPEEK) nanocomposite membrane for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs)

A nanocomposite membrane of sulfonated montmorillonite/sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SMMT/SPEEK) is proposed for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The SMMT is clay modified with silane of which the structure consists of a sulfonic acid group for proton conductivity improvement. The micro- and nano-scaled morphologies of the membranes perform the increase in inorganic aggregation with SMMT loading content as confirmed by SEM and AFM. The membrane stability, i.e., the liquid uptake in water and in methanol aqueous solution, as well as the mechanical stability increases with the SMMT loading content whereas thermal stability does not improve significantly. The methanol permeability reduction is obtained when the SMMT loading content increases for various methanol concentrations (1.5–4.5 M). A comparative study of the SPEEK nanocomposite membranes with SMMT and with pristine MMT shows fourfold proton conductivity enhancement after sulfonation. The DMFC single cell tests inform us that all nanocomposite membranes give the significant performance revealed by the plot of current density–voltage and power density.     

Sulfonated Poly(ether ether ketone) and Poly(ethylene glycol) Diacrylate Based Semi-Interpenetrating Network Membranes for Fuel Cells

Polymer electrolyte membranes are prepared from novel semi-interpenetrating polymer network material where the sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) is the linear polymer and the poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) is the cross-linking constituent. The semi-IPN is prepared by in situ polymerization of PEGDA in the presence of sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone). SPEEK is prepared by direct sulfonation of commercial PEEK (Gatone? 1100) by reported procedures. SPEEK with degree of sulfonation 63% (calculated from FT-NMR) is selected as the base membrane and different semi-IPN membranes were prepared by varying the PEGDA and SPEEK ratio. The degree of sulfonation of SPEEK and the formation of semi-IPN were confirmed by spectroscopy studies. The various semi-IPN membranes were characterized for ion-exchange capacity, water uptake, hydrolytic stability, proton conductivity and thermal stability for evaluating the suitability of these membranes for fuel cells. The proton conductivity of the membranes decreased with increasing PEGDA content. The Semi-IPN membranes exhibited conductivities (30°C) from 0.018 S/cm to 0.006 S/cm. These interpenetrating network membranes showed higher hydrolytic stability than the pure SPEEK membrane. This study shows that semi-IPN membranes based on PEGDA and SPEEK can be viable candidates for electrolyte membranes.     

SPEEK/PES-C、SPEEK/SPES-C共混质子交换膜研究

通过在磺化聚醚醚酮(SPEEK,DS=61.68%)中分别混入酚酞型聚醚砜(PES-C)、磺化酚酞型聚醚砜(SPES-C,DS=53.7%)制备出SPEEK/PES-C、SPEEK/SPES-C共混质子交换膜.结果表明,共混的两种聚合物之间均具有较好的相容性.PES-C、SPES-C的混入能有效降低膜的溶胀及甲醇透过,且随着共混量的增加,这种作用越趋明显.纯SPEEK膜在75℃左右溶解,而SPEEK/PES-C(30wt%)、SPEEK/SPES-C(30wt%)共混膜在80℃时溶胀度仅为22.5%、26.32%.在室温至80℃范围内,纯SPEEK及共混膜的甲醇透过系数都在10-7cm2.s-1数量级上,远小于Nafion115膜.在饱和湿度下,温度大于90℃时,SPEEK/PES-C(20wt%)共混膜电导率超过Nafion115膜;温度大于110℃时,SPEEK/SPES-C(30wt%)共混膜电导率与Nafion115膜相当,达到0.11S.cm-1.高电导率,低透醇系数以及明显提高了的可使用温度表明该类共混膜有望在DMFC中使用.     

Polyaniline decorated graphene oxide on sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membrane for direct methanol fuel cells application

In direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC), methanol crossover is a major issue which has reduced the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) for energy generation. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) and conductive polyaniline decorated GO (PANI-GO) were used as additives in fabrication of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) nanocomposite PEM membrane to reduce methanol crossover. PANI-GO was synthesized by in situ polymerization method and the formation of PANI coated GO nanostructures was confirmed by surface morphology and crystallinity analysis. The membrane morphology and topography analysis confirmed that GO and PANI-GO were well dispersed on the surface of SPEEK membrane. 0.1 wt% PANI-GO modified SPEEK nanocomposite membrane exhibited the highest water uptake and ion exchange capacity of 40% and 1.74 meq g^?1, respectively. The oxidative stability of the nanocomposite membranes also improved. Lower methanol permeability of 4.33 × 10^?7 cm^?2S^?1 was noticed for 0.1 wt% PANI-GO modified SPEEK membrane. PANI-GO modified SPEEK membrane enhanced the proton conductivity, which was due to the existence of acidic and hydrophilic group present in PANI and GO. PANI-GO modified SPEEK membrane held higher selectivity of 1.94 × 10⁴ S cm^?3 s^?1. Overall, these studies revealed that PANI-GO modified SPEEK membrane is a potential material for DMFC applications.     

DMFC用PES/SPEEK共混阻醇质子交换膜

将磺化聚醚醚酮(SPEEK, 磺化度DS为68.3%)和聚醚砜(PES)两种聚合物共混制得PES/SPEEK共混膜. DSC研究表明两种聚合物之间具有较好的相容性, 因而共混膜均匀致密, 未发生大尺度相分离. PES的混入能有效降低膜的溶胀度及甲醇透过系数. 纯SPEEK 膜40 ℃时在1 mol•L−1甲醇水溶液中溶胀度达到160%, 45 ℃时就完全溶解, 而含30%(w)PES的共混膜在80 ℃时的溶胀度仅有15%. 室温下含20%−30%(w)PES的共混膜的甲醇透过系数为1×10−7 cm2•s−1左右, 比Nafion 115膜的透过系数小一个数量级. 尽管80 ℃下30%(w)PES/SPEEK共混膜的电导率与Nafion 115膜相当, 但由于共混膜的厚度比Nafion 115膜小1/3左右, 膜电阻较小, 因而其电池性能比Nafion 115膜的好.     

磺化聚醚醚酮/三羧基丁烷膦酸锆复合质子交换膜的研究

通过在磺化聚醚醚酮(SPEEK)中掺杂1,2,4-三羧基丁烷-2-膦酸锆(Zr(PBTC))制备出SPEEK/Zr(PBTC)复合质子交换膜.结果表明,与纯SPEEK膜相比,Zr(PBTC)的掺杂能降低复合膜的吸液量及甲醇透过系数,且随着Zr(PBTC)含量的增加,这种作用越趋明显.在室温至80℃范围内,复合膜的甲醇透过系数在10-7cm2.s-1数量级上,远小于Nafion115膜.在饱和湿度下,当温度大于90℃时,含40wt%Zr(PBTC)的复合膜电导率超过Nafion115膜,并在160℃时达到0.36S.cm-1.使用温度的提高及在高温下的高电导率表明该复合膜适合在高温DMFC中使用.     

Characterization and performance of proton exchange membranes for direct methanol fuel cell: Blending of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) with charged surface modifying macromolecule

Modification of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) membrane was attempted by blending charged surface modifying macromolecule (cSMM). The modified membrane was tested for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) application; i.e. a SPEEK/cSMM blend membrane was compared to a SPEEK membrane and a Nafion 112 membrane for the thermal and mechanical stability, methanol permeability, and proton conductivity. Thermal and mechanical stability of the blended membrane were slightly reduced from the SPEEK membrane but still higher than the Nafion 112 membrane. The blend membrane was found to be promising for DMFC applications because of its lower methanol diffusivity (2.75 × 10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹) and higher proton conductivity (6.4 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹), than the SPEEK membrane. A plausible explanation was given for the favorable effect of cSMM blending.     

侧链型磺化聚芳醚酮/磺化聚乙烯醇复合型直接甲醇燃料电池用质子交换膜

通过溶液共混法制备了不同磺化聚乙烯醇(SPVA)含量的侧链型磺化聚芳醚酮/磺化聚乙烯醇(S-SPAEK/SPVA)复合膜. 应用红外光谱(FTIR)对复合膜进行了表征, 扫描电镜(SEM)显示SPVA均匀分布在复合膜中. 通过对复合膜的性能测试发现该系列复合膜具有良好的热性能、较高的吸水率和保水能力. SPVA中的羟基能有效地阻碍甲醇的透过, 甲醇渗透系数从S-SPAEK/SPVA5 复合膜的7.9×10^-7 cm²·s^-1降低到S-SPAEK/SPVA30的1.3×10^-7 cm²·s^-1, 比S-SPAEK膜的11.5×10^-7 cm²·s^-1降低了一个数量级. SPVA的引入增加了亲水基团数量, 增加了复合膜的吸水和保水能力, 有利于质子按照“Vehicle”机理和“Grotthuss”机理进行传递, 柔软的SPVA链段与S-SPAEK侧链聚集成亲水相区, 形成连续的质子传输通道, 提高了复合膜的质子传导率. 在25 和80℃ 时, S-SPAEK/SPVA30 复合膜的质子传导率分别达到了0.071 和0.095 S·cm^-1. 可见,S-SPAEK/SPVA复合膜有望在直接甲醇燃料电池中得到应用.     

含氨基磺化聚芳醚酮砜质子交换膜的制备与性能

通过四元缩聚的方法合成了带有氨基的磺化度可控的磺化聚芳醚酮砜共聚物(Am-SPAEKS). 采用红外光谱和核磁共振谱表征了Am-SPAEKS共聚物的结构. 该共聚物膜具有较好的热性能、尺寸稳定性、较高的质子传导率和阻醇能力. 在80℃时Am-SPAEKS-1膜的质子传导率达到0.0894 S/cm, 而其甲醇渗透系数在25℃时为0.24×10^-6 cm²/s, 低于相同温度下SPAEKS膜(0.87×10^-6 cm²/s)和Nafion膜(2×10^-6 cm²/s). 结果表明, Am-SPAEKS膜能够满足质子交换膜燃料电池(PEMFC)的使用要求.     

Novel method for the preparation of ionically crosslinked sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)/polybenzimidazole composite membranes via in situ polymerization

A series of ionically crosslinked composite membranes were prepared from sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES) and polybenzimidazole (PBI) via in situ polymerization method. The structure of the pristine polymer and the composite membranes were characterized by FT-IR. The performance of the composite membranes was characterized. The study showed that the introduction of PBI led to the reduction of methanol swelling ratio and the increase of mechanical properties due to the acid–base interaction between the sulfonic acid groups and benzimidazole groups. Moreover, the oxidative stability and thermal stability of the composite membranes were improved greatly. With the increase of PBI content, the methanol permeability coefficient of the composite membranes gradually decreased from 1.59 × 10⁻⁶ cm²/s to 1.28 × 10⁻⁸ cm²/s at 30 °C. Despite the fact that the proton conductivity decreased to some extent as a result of the addition of PBI, the composite membrane with PBI content of 5 wt.% still showed a proton conductivity of 0.201 S/cm at 80 °C which could actually meet the requirement of proton exchange fuel cell application. Furthermore, the composite membranes with PBI content of 2.5–7.5 wt.% showed better selectivity than Nafion117 taking into consideration the methanol swelling ratio and proton conductivity comprehensively.     

含氨基聚芳醚酮/磺化聚芳醚酮砜中高温质子交换复合膜的制备与性能研究

以自制的高磺化度磺化聚芳醚酮砜(SPAEKS)和含有氨基的聚芳醚酮(Am-PAEK)为原料,通过共溶剂涂膜法制备了不同重量比例的Am-PAEK/SPAEKS复合膜.通过高温(160℃)处理使氨基和磺酸基团在复合膜内形成交联,制得交联型复合膜.复合膜的热性能、尺寸稳定性、阻醇性能有所提高,而且交联型复合膜中的Am-PAEK/SPAEKS-C-3质子传导率在120℃时达到了0.0892 S/cm,高于在相同测试条件下SPAEKS膜的0.0654 S/cm和Nafion膜的0.062 S/cm,而其甲醇渗透系数在25℃时达到0.14×10-6cm2/s,低于SPAEKS膜的0.85×10-6cm2/s和Nafion膜的2×10-6cm2/s.实验结果表明,Am-PAEK/SPAEKS交联型复合膜有望在中高温质子交换膜燃料电池中得到应用.     

磺化聚醚酰亚胺/聚醚砜共混型质子交换膜的制备及其性能

以磺化聚醚酰亚胺(SPEI)和聚醚砜(PES)为原料, 采用溶液共混法成功制备出了SPEI/PES共混型质子交换膜,并经热重分析、AFM、SEM等对膜的结构和性能进行了表征. 结果表明, 共混膜较纯SPEI膜具有更高的热稳定性和较低的溶胀性; 在室温环境下, 共混膜在干态和湿态时均具有优异的机械性能; 与纯SPEI膜相比, 共混膜的形态结构更为致密, 这将有利于降低甲醇的渗透性. 采用交流阻抗法和隔膜扩散法分别考察了膜的质子传导性和阻醇性能, 对于共混质量比为50/50的膜来说, 其质子传导率达到了5.5 mS·cm-1的水平, 能满足质子交换膜的需求, 但其甲醇渗透系数明显降低, 仅为市用Nafion 112膜的5%, 这表明该共混膜有望作为一种新型的直接甲醇燃料电池用质子交换膜.     

Synthesis of sulfonated poly(imidoaryl ether sulfone) membranes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

New sulfonated poly(imidoaryl ether sulfone) copolymers derived from sulfonated 4,4′‐dichlorodiphenyl sulfone, 4,4′‐dichlorodiphenyl sulfone, and imidoaryl biphenol were evaluated as polymer electrolyte membranes for direct methanol fuel cells. The sulfonated membranes were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The state of water in the membranes was measured with differential scanning calorimetry, and the existence of free water and bound water was discussed in terms of the sulfonation level. The 10 wt % weight loss temperatures of these copolymers were above 470 °C, indicating excellent thermooxidative stability to meet the severe criteria of harsh fuel‐cell conditions. The proton conductivities of the membranes ranged from 3.8 × 10^?2 to 5 × 10^?2 S/cm at 90 °C, depending on the degree of sulfonation. The sulfonated membranes maintained the original proton conductivity even after a boiling water test, and this indicated the excellent hydrolytic stability of the membranes. The methanol permeabilities ranged from 1.65 × 10^?8 to 5.14 × 10^?8 cm²/s and were lower than those of other conventional sulfonated ionomer membranes, particularly commercial perfluorinated sulfonated ionomer (Nafion). The properties of proton and methanol transport were discussed with respect to the state of water in the membranes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5620–5631, 2005     

Sulfonated polybenzimidazoles: Proton conduction and acid–base crosslinking

A series of soluble, benzimidazole‐based polymers containing sulfonic acid groups (SuPBI) has been synthesized. SuPBI membranes resist extensive swelling in water but are poor proton conductors. When blended with high ion exchange capacity (IEC) sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK), a polymer that has high proton conductivity but poor mechanical integrity, ionic crosslinks form reducing the extent of swelling. The effect of sulfonation of PBI on crosslinking in these blends was gauged through comparison with nonsulfonated analogs. Sulfonic acid groups present in SuPBI compensate for acid groups involved in crosslinking, thereby increasing IEC and proton conductivity of the membrane. When water uptake and proton conductivity were compared to the IEC of blends containing either sulfonated or nonsulfonated PBI, no noticeable distinction between PBI types could be made. Comparisons were also made between these blends and pure SPEEK membranes of similar IEC. Blend membranes exhibit slightly lower maximum proton conductivity than pure SPEEK membranes (60 vs. 75 mS cm^?1) but had significantly enhanced dimensional stability upon immersion in water, especially at elevated temperature (80 °C). Elevated temperature measurements in humid environments show increased proton conductivity of the SuPBI membranes when compared with SPEEK‐only membranes of similar IEC (c.f. 55 for the blend vs. 42 mS cm^?1 for SPEEK at 80 °C, 90% relative humidity). © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 3640–3650, 2010     

Preparation and properties of UV irradiation-induced crosslinked sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) proton exchange membranes

The crosslinkable sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)s (SPEEKs) were synthesized by nucleophilic substitution reaction of diallyl bisphenol A, tert-butylhydroquinone, 4,4′-difluorobenzophenone and sodium 5,5′-carbonylbis(2-fluorobenzene-sulfonate). The SPEEKs with high intrinsic viscosity showed good solubility and could be cast into flexible and transparent membranes. The SPEEK membranes containing benzophenone (BP) and triethylamine (TEA) photo-initiator system were treated by UV light to promote crosslinking. The experimental results revealed that the crosslinked membrane with 10 min irradiation time showed the most potential as proton exchange membrane for direct methanol fuel cell applications. When the irradiation time increased from 0 to 10 min, the water uptake decreased from 29.1 to 26.1%, and the tensile modulus and the tensile strength enhanced sharply from 0.80 to 1.44 GPa and from 40.3 to 63.4 MPa, respectively. In addition, the methanol diffusion coefficient reduced sharply from 1.70 × 10⁻⁶ to 7.42 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/s with only slight sacrifice in the proton conductivity, which made the crosslinked membrane with 10 min irradiation time possess the highest selectivity.