Novel sulfonated polyimide/ZrO2 composite membrane as a separator of vanadium redox flow battery

Sulfonated polyimide (SPI) and ZrO₂ are blended to prepare a series of novel SPI/ZrO₂ composite membranes for vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) application. Results of atomic force microscopy and X‐ray diffraction reveal that ZrO₂ is successfully composited with SPI. All SPI/ZrO₂ membranes possess high proton conductivity (2.96–3.72 × 10^?2 S cm^?1) and low VO²⁺ permeability (2.18–4.04 × 10^?7 cm² min^?1). SPI/ZrO₂‐15% membrane is determined as the optimum one on account of its higher proton selectivity and improved chemical stability. The VRFB with SPI/ZrO₂‐15% membrane presents higher coulombic efficiency and energy efficiency than that with Nafion 117 membrane at the current density, which ranged from 20 to 80 mA cm^?2. Cycling tests indicate that the SPI/ZrO₂‐15% membrane has good operation stability in the VRFB system. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

表面修饰模式对Nafion离子选择性影响及在VRFB中的应用

本文采用壳聚糖-磷钨酸层对Nafion膜表面分别进行单面和双面修饰改性,研究了修饰模式对Nafion膜钒离子渗透率、电导率及离子选择性的影响. 结果表明,单面、双面修饰改性均会使Nafion膜的钒离子渗透率显著降低,最高降幅分别达到89.9% (单面修饰) 和92.7% (双面修饰);单面、双面修饰改性均会使Nafion膜的电导率下降,但存在明显差异,在相同修饰厚度条件下,双面修饰改性对Nafion膜电导率的影响比单面修饰改性更小。因此,双面修饰复合膜展示出了比单面修饰复合膜更高的离子选择性,并且在修饰层厚度为17 μm时达到最大值（1.12×10⁵ S•min•cm^-3）. 基于优化的双面修饰Nafion膜的全钒液流电池,在充放电流密度30 mA•cm^-2 时,库伦效率和能量效率分别达到93.5%和 80.7%, 并且在测试时间内展示出良好的循环稳定性.     

Preparation and characterization of quaternized poly (2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl methacrylate‐co‐N‐vinylimidazole) membrane for vanadium redox flow battery

Aiming to develop a suitable ion exchange membrane for vanadium redox flow battery (VRB), a new kind of imidazolium salt type anion exchange membrane based on the copolymer of N‐vinylimidazole and 2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl methacrylate has been prepared. The membrane is characterized by means of water uptake, ion‐exchange capacity, ionic conductivity, and thermal stability. Furthermore, a VRB with this membrane is assembled, and the performance of such VRB is evaluated. The permeability experiments show that this membrane has reasonable low permeability of vanadium ions. The coulombic efficiency (CE) and energy efficiency (EE) of VRB with the synthesized membrane are 99.5% and 75.0%, whereas the CE and EE of the VRB with Nafion® 117 membrane are 82.6% and 72.6%, respectively. The synthesized membrane shows good chemical stability in VRB via more than 4000 cycles test. Therefore, this membrane shows good applicable potential in VRB. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and characterization of sulfonated polyimide/TiO2 composite membrane for vanadium redox flow battery

A sulfonated polyimide (SPI)/TiO₂ composite membrane was fabricated by a blend way to improve its performance in vanadium redox flow battery (VRB). Both EDS and XRD results verify the successful preparation of the SPI/TiO₂ composite membrane. The surface SEM image shows its homogeneous structure. TG analysis identifies its thermal stability. The SPI/TiO₂ composite membrane possesses much lower permeability of VO²⁺ ions (2.02?×?10^?7 cm² min^?1) and favorable proton conductivity (3.12?×?10^?2 S cm^?1). The VRB single cell with SPI/TiO₂ composite membrane shows higher coulombic efficiency (93.80–98.00 %) and energy efficiency (83.20–67.61 %) at the current density ranged from 20 to 80 mA cm^?2 compared with that with Nafion 117 membrane. And the operational stability of the as-prepared composite membrane is good after 50 times of cycling tests. Therefore, the low-cost SPI/TiO₂ composite membrane with excellent battery performance exhibits a great potential for application in VRB.     

Membranes and separators for redox flow batteries

Ion-exchange membranes are performance- and cost-relevant components of redox flow batteries. Currently used materials are largely ‘borrowed’ from other applications that have different functional requirements. The trend toward higher current densities and the complex transport phenomena of the different species in flow batteries need to be taken into consideration for the design of next-generation membrane/separator materials. In this article, the key requirements and current development trends for membranes and separators for the vanadium redox flow battery are highlighted and discussed.     

Facile synthesis of amphoteric ion exchange membrane by radiation grafting of sodium styrene sulfonate and N,N‐dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate for vanadium redox flow battery

Sodium styrene sulfonate (SSS) and N,N‐dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) are grafted into poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) film using γ‐radiation techniques. SSS could be co‐grafted successfully with DMAEMA, although it is difficult to be grafted solely into PVDF films. Through subsequent protonation process, an amphoteric ion exchange membrane (AIEM) is synthesized facilely and environmentally benignly. The degree of grafting (DOG) increases with absorbed dose and levels off at 40 kGy. Micro‐FTIR and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses confirm the existence of the designed units and quaternization of DMAEMA units in the grafted films. The quaternization and grafting occurring at the same time makes it a unique way to synthesize quaternized AIEM in one step. Finally, an AIEM with a DOG of 43% is assembled in the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) system, and the VRFB maintains an open circuit voltage higher than 1.4 V after placed for 85 h, which is much longer than that with Nafion117 membrane. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 5194–5202     

Study on stabilities and electrochemical behavior of V(V) electrolyte with acid additives for vanadium redox flow battery

Several acid compounds have been employed as additives of the V(V) electrolyte for vanadium redox flow battery (VRB) to improve its stability and electrochemical activity. Stability of the V(V) electrolyte with and without additives was investigated with ex-situ heating/cooling treatment at a wide temperature range of −5 °C to 60 °C. It was observed that methanesulfonic acid, boric acid, hydrochloric acid, trifluoroacetic acid, polyacrylic acid, oxalic acid, methacrylic acid and phosphotungstic acid could improve the stability of the V(V) electrolyte at a certain range of temperature. Their electrochemical behaviors in the V(V) electrolyte were further studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), steady state polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the electrochemical activity, including the reversibility of electrode reaction, the diffusivity of V(V) species, the polarization resistance and the flexibility of charge transfer for the V(V) electrolyte with these additives were all improved compared with the pristine solution.     

Synthesis and characterization of quaternized poly（phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone） for anion-exchange membrane

Chloromethylated poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (CMPPESK) was prepared from poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (PPESK) using chloromethyl octyl ethers (CMOE) with lower toxicity as chloromethylated regent.CMPPESK was soluble in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP),N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and chloroform.Quatemized poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (QAPPESK) was prepared from CMPPESK by quaternization.QAPPESK had excellent solvent resistance, which was only partly soluble in sulfuric acid (98%) and swollen in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF).The vanadium redox flow battery (V-RFB) using QAPPESK anion-exchange membrane had better performance with 88.3% of overall energy efficiency.     

Pd-Ag/PTFE复合膜的制备及表征

本文以不同孔径的聚四氟乙烯（PTFE）为基膜，采用化学镀法分别将Ag、Pd沉积到PIFE膜孔及膜面上，制得了镀层均匀、结合力较好的Pd-Ag／PTEE复合膜，并考察了PTFE基膜孔径对镀层结合力的影响，以及化学镀工艺对金属钯沉积速率、复合膜孔结构和截面电阻率的影响。结果表明，适当的基膜孔结构有利于提高镀层结合力；PTFE膜经化学镀修饰后，孔径减小，孔径分布变窄，孔隙率降低，膜截面电阻率降低10^6数量级，且孔径减小顺序与截面电阻率减小顺序一致。     

聚苯并咪唑/聚乙烯吡咯烷酮复合质子交换膜的制备及钒液流电池性能

将聚苯并咪唑(PBI)与聚乙烯吡咯烷酮(PVP)共混, 制备了一系列PBI/PVP复合质子交换膜, 研究了不同PVP含量对PBI/PVP复合质子交换膜性能的影响. 研究结果表明, PVP的加入可有效提高PBI/PVP复合质子交换膜的吸水率及硫酸吸附量, 从而提高质子电导率, 与PBI原膜相比, PBI-PVP-5复合质子交换膜的结合酸含量可达2.47 mmol/g, 质子电导率达4.81 mS/cm, 选择性(3.12×10⁵ S·min/cm³)远高于原膜(1.12×10⁵ S·min/cm³). 电流密度为120 mA/cm²时, 电池的电压效率(VE)和能量效率(EE)均较PBI原膜提高了10%, 电池自放电时间长达307 h. PVP的加入为PBI系列钒液流电池隔膜提供了一个提高质子电导率的新思路.     

局部密集交联含氟聚芳醚阴离子交换膜的制备与性能

为开发同时具有阴离子传导率高、钒离子渗透率低、机械性能和化学稳定性优异的阴离子交换膜(AEM),本文以逐步缩聚法合成了含叔胺基的含氟聚芳醚(FPAE),然后以十溴丙基柱[5]芳烃(P5Br)作为交联剂,通过P5Br上的溴烷基与FPAE上的叔胺基之间的亲核取代反应进行交联,最后用碘甲烷将剩余叔胺基季铵化,制得一系列局部密集交联含氟聚芳醚阴离子交换膜QAFPAE-P5Br-x.研究结果表明,所有膜在极性非质子溶剂中都具有较高的凝胶含量,证明已形成高效交联结构.随着交联剂含量从0.5%增加到5%,膜的吸水率、溶胀率、阴离子传导率和VO2+透过率逐渐降低,而离子选择性、拉伸强度、面电阻和氧化稳定性逐渐增加.交联剂含量为1%的QAFPAE-P5Br-1%膜同时具有较低的面电阻和VO²⁺透过率,综合性能优异.以QAFPAE-P5Br-1%组装的全钒液流电池(VRFB)在80 mA·cm^?2的电流密度下具有86.5%的能量效率,比以Nafion 212组装的VRFB高出7.7%.另外,以QAFPAE-P5Br-1%组装的VRFB还具有优异的循环稳定性、放电容量保持率和抗自放电性能.可见,局部密集交联是一种提高VRFB用AEM综合性能的有效方法.     

丙烯酸水溶液聚合法制备PTFE/PAA/Nafion膜及其性能

采用廉价的多孔聚四氟乙烯(PTFE)膜作为基底, 用少量的Nafion与PTFE膜复合可制备低成本的质子膜. 但疏水性的PTFE膜与亲水性的Nafion膜结合性不佳. 基于此, 本文对疏水性的PTFE膜材料表面进行设计, 先采用丙烯酸对疏水性的PTFE膜表面进行亲水性改性, 再喷涂亲水性Nafion膜, 完成低成本PTFE/PAA/Nafion膜的制备. 实验结果表明, 改性前的PTFE膜材料水接触角为150°, 改性后的膜接触角变为55.6°, 亲水性大幅上升, 膜的机械强度和尺寸稳定性(断裂强度为25.2 MPa, 80 ℃下的溶胀率为11.9%)均优于Nafion117膜, 而 Nafion用量则节省了60%. PTFE/PAA/Nafion膜具有高质子导通率(80 ℃下达到131.9 mS/cm), 接近于Nafion117膜, 最大功率密度可以达到404.2 mW/cm².     

Preparation and characterization of a composite PDMS membrane on CA support

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is the most commonly used membrane material for the separation of condensable vapors from lighter gases. In this study, a composite PDMS membrane was prepared and its gas permeation properties were investigated at various upstream pressures. A microporous cellulose acetate (CA) support was initially prepared and characterized. Then, PDMS solution, containing crosslinker and catalyst, was cast over the support. Sorption and permeation of C₃H₈, CO₂, CH₄, and H₂ in the prepared composite membrane were measured. Using sorption and permeation data of gases, diffusion coefficients were calculated based on solution‐diffusion mechanism. Similar to other rubbery membranes, the prepared PDMS membrane advantageously exhibited less resistance to permeation of heavier gases, such as C₃H₈, compared to the lighter ones, such as CO₂, CH₄, and H₂. This result was attributed to the very high solubility of larger gas molecules in the hydrocarbon‐based PDMS membrane in spite of their lower diffusion coefficients relative to smaller molecules. Increasing feed pressure increased permeability, solubility, and diffusion coefficients of the heavier gases while decreased those of the lighter ones. At constant temperature (25°C), empirical linear relations were proposed for permeability, solubility, and diffusion coefficients as a function of transmembrane pressure. C₃H₈/gas solubility, diffusivity, and overall selectivities were found to increase with increasing feed pressure. Ideal selectivity values of 9, 30, and 82 for C₃H₈ over CO₂, CH₄, and H₂, respectively, at an upstream pressure of 8 atm, confirmed the outstanding separation performance of the prepared membrane. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于磷钨酸功能化纳米纤维的超高质子/钒选择性的聚苯并咪唑膜在全钒液流电池中的应用

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) is a key component of vanadium redox flow battery (VRB), and its proton/vanadium selectivity plays an important role in the performance of a VRB single cell. Commercially available perfluorosulfonic acid (Nafion) membranes have been widely used due to their excellent proton conductivity and favorable chemical resistance. However, the large pore size micelle channels formed by the pendant sulfonic acid groups lead to the excessive penetration of vanadium ions, which seriously affects the coulombic efficiency (CE) of the single cell and accelerates the self-discharge rate of the battery. Additionally, the expensive cost of Nafion is also an important reason to limit its large-scale application. In this paper, the dense and low-cost hydrocarbon polymer polybenzimidazole (PBI) is used as the matrix material of the PEM, which is doped with phosphotungstic acid (PWA) to acquire excellent proton conductivity, and the intrinsic high resistance of PBI for vanadium ions is helpful to obtain high proton/vanadium selectivity. Considering the enormous water solubility of PWA and its easy leaching from membrane, organic polymer nano-Kevlar fibers (NKFs) are utilized as the anchoring agent of PWA, which achieves good anchoring effect and solves the problem of the poor compatibility between inorganic anchoring agent and the polymer matrix. The formation of PWA functionalized NKFs was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The anchoring stability of NKFs for PWA was evaluated by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The characterizations including water uptake, swelling ratio, ion exchange capacity, proton conductivity, vanadium ion permeability and ion selectivity were performed to evaluate the basic properties of the membranes. At the same time, the charge-discharge, self-discharge and cycle performance of single cell assembled with the composite membrane and recast Nafion were tested at various current densities from 40 to 100 mA∙cm^-2. Simple tuning for the filling amount of NKFs@PWA gives the composite membrane superior ion selectivity including an optimal value of 3.26 × 10⁵ S∙min∙cm^-3, which is 8.5 times higher than that of recast Nafion (0.34 × 10⁵ S∙min∙cm^-3). As a result, the VRB single cell assembled with the composite membrane exhibits higher CE and significantly lower self-discharge rate compared with recast Nafion. Typically, the CE of the VRB based on PBI-(NKFs@PWA)-22.5% membrane is 97.31% at 100 mA∙cm^-2 while the value of recast Nafion is only 90.28%. The open circuit voltage (V_OC) holding time above 0.8 V of the single cell assembled with the composite membrane is 95 h, which is about 2.4 times as long as that of recast Nafion-based VRB. The utilization of PBI as a separator for VRB can effectively suppress the penetration of vanadium ions, achieve higher proton/vanadium selectivity and superior battery performance as well as reduce the cost of the PEM, which will play an active role in the promotion of VRB applications.     

Preparation and characterization of sulfonated poly(phenylene oxide) proton exchange composite membrane doped with phosphosilicate gels

A new class of proton exchange composite membranes made by incorporating phosphosilicate gels into SPPO matrix was prepared and characterized. The thermal stability was evaluated by TGA and DSC, and the amorphous structure information was provided from XRD. The experimental results showed that the composite membranes have good stability to oxidation by Fenton's reagent test, and the membrane dimension is hardly changed, even at high temperature. The hydration number values of the persulfonic acid group of composite membranes were lower than that of Nafion 112 at room temperature, but the water uptake of composite membranes at 80°C was higher than that of Nafion 112. With increasing relative humidity and doping amount, the conductivity of the composite membranes increased. Moreover, the conductivities of water-equilibrated composite membranes were higher than that of Nafion 112 (0.0871 S/cm) at room temperature, and the highest conductivity for the composite membrane was 0.216 S/cm. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Proton and methanol transport behavior of SPEEK/TPA/MCM-41 composite membranes for fuel cell application

This paper reports proton and methanol transport behavior of composite membranes prepared for use in the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The composite membranes were prepared by embedding various proportions (10–30 wt.%) of inorganic proton conducting material (tungstophosphoric acid (TPA)/MCM-41) into sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) polymer matrix. The results indicate that the proton conductivity of the membranes increases with increasing loading of solid proton conducting material. The highest conductivity value of 2.75 mS/cm was obtained for the SPEEK composite membrane containing 30 wt.% solid proton conducting material (50 wt.% TPA in MCM-41). The methanol permeability and crossover flux were also found to increase with increasing loading of the solid proton conducting material. Lowest permeability value of 5.7 × 10⁻⁹ cm² s⁻¹ was obtained for composite membrane with 10 wt.% of the solid proton conducting material (40 wt.% TPA in MCM-41). However, all the composite membranes showed higher selectivity (ratio between the proton conductivity and the methanol permeability) compared to the pure SPEEK membrane. In addition, the membranes are thermally stable up to 160 °C. Thus, these membranes have potential to be considered for use in direct methanol fuel cell.     

Preparation,characterization and application of a novel thermal stable composite nanofiltration membrane

A thermal stable composite membrane was prepared by interfacial polymerization of piperazine (PIP) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on poly(phthalazinone ether amide) (PPEA) ultrafiltration membrane. The effect of reaction parameters on the performance of composite membranes was studied and optimized. The surface morphologies of the composite membrane and the substrate were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The rejection of optimized composite membrane for dyes Congo red (CGR) and Acid chrome blue K (ACBK), the molecular weight (MW) of which is over 400, was over 99.2%, with a flux at about 180 L m⁻² h⁻¹. While the rejection for NaCl was only 18.2% with a flux over 270 L m⁻² h⁻¹, when tested at 1.0 MPa 60 °C. The composite membrane was applied in the desalination-purification experiment of dye ACBK and NaCl mixed solution. The flux of the membrane increased obviously as the operation pressure and/or temperature increased, while the rejection for dye was constant and kept over 99.3%. The purification experiments were accomplished effectively at 1.0 MPa, 80 °C. Only after five rounds of desalination-concentration experiment, about 160 min, the salt mixed in dye solution was fully removed. The initial flux of the eighth cycle was about 254 L m⁻² h⁻¹, which was only 20 L m⁻² h⁻¹ lower than that of the first round. The rejection of the membrane was constant and kept over 99.3% through out the eight cycles of purification experiment.     

Preparation and thermal treatment of Pd/Ag composite membrane on a porous alumina tube by sequential electroless plating technique for H2 separation

Pd/Ag/α-Al2O3 composite membranes were prepared by sequential electroless plating technique. The prepared membranes were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy techniques （ICP-AES）. Effects of annealing time, Ag content, and air treatment on the hydrogen permeation flux and morphology of the alloys were investigated. The results of the investigation showed that the prepared type of tube had a good potential as substrate for membrane preparation. In addition, a uniform defect-free alloy was prepared by annealing at 550 ℃ in H2 atmosphere. The permeation results showed an increase in H2 permeation flux by increasing the Ag content and the annealing time. In addition, the air treatment of the prepared membranes at 400 ℃ for 1 h changed the morphology of the alloy and substantially enhanced the hydrogen flux.     

Preparation and properties of Nafion/SiO2 composite membrane derived via in situ sol–gel reaction: size controlling and size effects of SiO2 nano‐particles

A novel technique in controlling the size of SiO₂ nano‐particles in the preparation of Nafion/SiO₂ composite membranes via in situ sol–gel method, as well as the effects of nano‐particle size on membrane properties and cell performance, is reported in this paper. Nafion/SiO₂ composite membranes containing SiO₂ nano‐particles with four different diameters (5 ± 0.5, 7 ± 0.5, 10 ± 1, and 15 ± 2 nm) are fabricated by altering the reactant concentrations during in situ sol–gel reaction. Sequentially, size effects of SiO₂ nano‐particles on membrane properties and cell performance are investigated by SEM/EDAX, TEM, TGA, mechanical tensile, and single cell tests, etc. The results suggest that 10 nm is a critical diameter for SiO₂ incorporated into Nafion matrix, exhibiting desirable physico‐chemical properties for operation at elevated temperature and low humidity. At 110°C and 59% RH, the output voltage of the cell equipped with Nafion/SiO₂ (10 nm) obtains an output voltage of 0.625 V at 600 mA/cm², which is 50 mV higher than that of unmodified Nafion. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CeO2/Co3O4氧载体的制备及其甲烷化学链燃烧性能研究

制备了系列甲烷化学链燃烧用CeO₂/Co₃O₄复合氧载体,采用XRD、H₂-TPR、甲烷程序升温和恒温反应对氧载体进行了表征与评价。研究了不同CeO₂的负载量对复合氧载体的结构、氧化还原性、产物选择性的影响。结果表明,氧化铈的添加不仅降低了氧载体的初始反应温度,还延长了有效反应时间,但铈添加量过高会降低产物CO₂选择性,使甲烷向部分氧化进行。CeO₂(30%)/Co₃O₄氧载体在650 ℃经20次循环后甲烷转化率和CO₂选择性均未明显降低,表现出较高的活性和化学链循环稳定性。