The effect of sulfonated graphene oxide on Sulfonated Poly (Ether Ether Ketone) membrane for direct methanol fuel cells

Abstract A novel composite membrane of sulfonated graphene oxide (s-GO) and SPEEK with various sulfonated graphene oxide contents was prepared and investigated. The sulfonation of graphene oxide and PEEK induces an increase in the number of sulfonic groups (SO3H), which significantly increases the proton conductivity of sulfonated graphene oxide/SPEEK membrane. The introduction of sulfonated graphene oxide in membranes not only improved proton conductivity, but also positively affected the mechanical properties and the blocking of methanol and water molecules passing through the membrane. Consequently, incorporation of sulfonated graphene oxide into SPEEK membrane has considerably increased the selectivity of the membrane. Therefore, this sulfonated graphene oxide/SPEEK membrane is a good candidate for usage in direct methanol fuel cells.

[1]  S. Stankovich,et al.  Graphene-based composite materials , 2006, Nature.

[2]  M. Raza,et al.  Graphite nanoplatelet/silicone composites for thermal interface applications , 2010, 2010 International Symposium on Advanced Packaging Materials: Microtech (APM).

[3]  Jae-Young Choi,et al.  Efficient Reduction of Graphite Oxide by Sodium Borohydride and Its Effect on Electrical Conductance , 2009 .

[4]  H. Na,et al.  Preparation and evaluation of a proton exchange membrane based on crosslinkable sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)s , 2006 .

[5]  A. Bhowmick,et al.  A review on the mechanical and electrical properties of graphite and modified graphite reinforced polymer composites , 2011 .

[6]  Chen-Chi M. Ma,et al.  Synergetic effects of graphene platelets and carbon nanotubes on the mechanical and thermal properties of epoxy composites , 2011 .

[7]  Suzhen Ren,et al.  Surface modification of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membranes using Nafion solution for direct methanol fuel cells , 2005 .

[8]  H. Doğan,et al.  Sulfonated PEEK and fluorinated polymer based blends for fuel cell applications: Investigation of th , 2010 .

[9]  Hui Na,et al.  Modification of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) proton exchange membrane for reducing methanol crossover , 2008 .

[10]  Chengji Zhao,et al.  Crosslinked sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) proton exchange membranes for direct methanol fuel cell applications , 2007 .

[11]  Dajun Chen,et al.  Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Graphene-Based Poly(vinyl alcohol) Composites , 2010 .

[12]  M. A. Gómez,et al.  High performance PEEK/carbon nanotube composites compatibilized with polysulfones-II. Mechanical and electrical properties , 2010 .

[13]  Xianfeng Li,et al.  Properties of composite membranes based on sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)s (SPEEK)/phenoxy resin (PHR) for direct methanol fuel cells usages , 2007 .

[14]  S. Stankovich,et al.  Synthesis of graphene-based nanosheets via chemical reduction of exfoliated graphite oxide , 2007 .

[15]  G. Yin,et al.  Proton exchange membranes based on poly(vinylidene fluoride) and sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) , 2006 .

[16]  Chang-Soo Kim,et al.  Preparation of proton-conducting sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/boron phosphate composite membranes by an in situ sol–gel process , 2006 .

[17]  R. Ruoff,et al.  Hydrogen bond networks in graphene oxide composite paper: structure and mechanical properties. , 2010, ACS nano.

[18]  G. Robertson,et al.  Synthesis and characterization of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) for proton exchange membranes , 2004 .

[19]  Michael D. Guiver,et al.  Proton conducting composite membranes from polyether ether ketone and heteropolyacids for fuel cell applications , 2000 .

[20]  Hongwei Zhang,et al.  Modification research of sulfonated PEEK membranes used in DMFC , 2008 .

[21]  G. Robertson,et al.  Properties of PEMs based on cross-linked sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) , 2006 .

[22]  Inhwa Jung,et al.  Tunable electrical conductivity of individual graphene oxide sheets reduced at "low" temperatures. , 2008, Nano letters.

[23]  B. P. Tripathi,et al.  Functionalized organic-inorganic nanostructured N-p-carboxy benzyl chitosan-silica-PVA hybrid polyelectrolyte complex as proton exchange membrane for DMFC applications. , 2008, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[24]  Yuxin Wang,et al.  Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membranes for direct methanol fuel cell , 2003 .

[25]  A. Ismail,et al.  Preparation and characterization of speek/ mmt-sta composite membrane for DMFC application , 2011 .

[26]  C. Ma,et al.  Thermal conductivity and structure of non-covalent functionalized graphene/epoxy composites , 2011 .

[27]  Tao Yang.  Preliminary study of SPEEK/PVA blend membranes for DMFC applications , 2008 .

[28]  N. Koratkar,et al.  Enhanced mechanical properties of nanocomposites at low graphene content. , 2009, ACS nano.

[29]  Jian Liu,et al.  Synthesis; characterization; and catalytic activity of sulfonic acid-functionalized periodic mesoporous organosilicas , 2004 .

[30]  Steven Nutt,et al.  Covalent polymer functionalization of graphene nanosheets and mechanical properties of composites , 2009 .

[31]  M. Hickner,et al.  Alternative polymer systems for proton exchange membranes (PEMs). , 2004, Chemical reviews.

[32]  Chao Zhang,et al.  One‐Step Ionic‐Liquid‐Assisted Electrochemical Synthesis of Ionic‐Liquid‐Functionalized Graphene Sheets Directly from Graphite , 2008 .

[33]  Isaac M Daniel,et al.  Mechanical and thermal properties of graphite platelet/epoxy composites , 2004 .

[34]  Lee Luong,et al.  Epoxy/graphene platelets nanocomposites with two levels of interface strength , 2011 .

[35]  K. Kreuer.  On the development of proton conducting polymer membranes for hydrogen and methanol fuel cells , 2001 .