Electrolyte Membrane Composite from Modified Chitosan-Vanillin and Zeolite Filler for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Application

Fossil fuels, which are the main fuels in the world has a negative impact on the environment and must be replaced immediately with other fuels, DMFC is variant of fuel cell which works as portable to maintain daily human activity and potential to replace fossil fuels as the main source of energy. DMFC regulates as similar to an electrochemical cell in which favor of separator referred to as Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM). PEM shows the main feature, such as hindering the electrons and reactants from trespassing between the electrodes while acting as a proton conductor. The main parameter of PEM for DMFC are good proton conductivity and low methanol permeability. Chitosan-Vanillin (CV) was synthesized by reacting chitosan and vanillin at 1: 2,5 wt ratio and stirred continuously to obtain the product. The membrane then cast by mixing the CV with some variations of zeolite with the compositions of 1,5%, 3%, and 6% wt towards CV. The membrane then cast into a petri dish and left it overnight. The resultant membrane then characterized with FTIR, ATR, molecular weight, water and methanol uptake, ion exchange capacity, ionic conductivity, and methanol permeability. The optimum membrane result was the 6% wt zeolite in the CV, in which ionic conductivity reached 0,1 S/cm and 1,266 x 10-3 cm2/s for methanol permeability.