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A novel fluoroboric acid additive was used to enhance proton conductivity in PEMFC membranes, improving crystallinity and glass transition temperature.

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What they did

System
MFC

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Abstract

Abstract This study focuses on developing an alternative membrane for PEMFC due to the disadvantages of using Nafion. Fluoroboric acid (FBA) was used as an additive material to SPEEK-PVA blend membranes at different weight ratios (1%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, and 12.5%), and a synthesis procedure was carried out with the solution-casting. Thermal crosslinking was performed with all membranes. Utilizing FBA, with its highly electronegative fluorine groups, is a novel approach expected to enhance proton conductivity. The structural, morphological, and thermal properties of the synthesized membranes were determined by FTIR, XRD, SEM, TGA-DTG, and DSC. Water uptake capacity (WUC), swelling property, area change, dynamic mechanical analysis, ion exchange capacity (IEC), AC impedance analysis, hydrolytic stability, and oxidative stability analyses were performed for fuel cell applications. Although FBA does not have a crystal structure, the synergy it created with the SPEEK-PVA membrane increased the crystallinity of the membrane and, accordingly, glass transition temperature. SEM images of membranes at a ratio above 7.5% show that agglomerations occur in the structure and this is supported by other analyses. It was determined that the membrane composition with the highest WUC (16.44%), IEC (1.55 meq/g), and proton conductivity (0.57 S/cm) values contained 7.5% FBA from the characterization studies, and a single-cell performance test was actualized with this. 418 mA/cm 2 current density and 250.8 mW/cm 2 power density were obtained at 0.6 V cell potential, with the membrane containing 7.5% FBA. This study shows that the synthesized membrane, especially the FBA, is a promising option for PEMFC application. Graphical Abstract

Key findings

  • The use of fluoroboric acid as an additive material increased the crystallinity of the membrane and glass transition temperature.
  • Agglomerations occurred in the structure of membranes with a fluoroboric acid ratio above 7.5%.
  • The addition of fluoroboric acid improved the proton conductivity of the membrane.

Keywords

Proton exchange membrane fuel cellCharacterization (materials science)Fuel cellsMembraneChemical engineeringComposite material

Identifiers

DOI
10.1007/s10924-023-03180-7
Journal
Journal of Polymers and the Environment
Year
2024