Donnadio Anna, Pica Monica, Subianto Surya, Jones Deborah J, Cojocaru Paula, Casciola Mario
Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnologies, University of Perugia, Via Elce di Sotto 8, 06123 Perugia (Italy), Fax: (+39) 0755855566.
ChemSusChem. 2014 Aug;7(8):2176-84. doi: 10.1002/cssc.201402209. Epub 2014 Jun 27.
Layered zirconium phosphate (ZP) that bears fluorinated alkyl chains bonded covalently to the layers (ZPR) was used as a nanofiller in membranes based on a short-side-chain perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) to mechanically reinforce the PFSA hydrophobic component. Compared to the pristine PFSA, membranes with a ZPR loading up to 30 wt% show enhanced mechanical properties, and the largest improvement of elastic modulus (E) and yield stress (σY ) are observed for the 10 wt% ZPR membrane: ΔE/E up to 90% and ΔσY /σY up 70% at 70°C and 80% relative humidity (RH). In the RH range 50-95%, the in-plane conductivity of the composite membranes reaches 0.43 S cm(-1) for 10 wt% ZPR at 110°C and is on average 30% higher than the conductivity of the pristine PFSA. The 10 wt % ZPR membrane is as hydrated as the neat PFSA membrane at 50% RH but becomes progressively less hydrated with increasing RH both at 80 and 110°C. The fuel cell performance of this membrane, at 80°C and 30% RH, is better than that of the unmodified PFSA.
层状磷酸锆（ZP）中带有与层共价键合的氟化烷基链（ZPR），被用作基于短侧链全氟磺酸（PFSA）的膜中的纳米填料，以机械增强PFSA疏水组分。与原始PFSA相比，ZPR负载量高达30 wt%的膜显示出增强的机械性能，对于10 wt% ZPR膜，观察到弹性模量（E）和屈服应力（σY）的最大改善：在70°C和80%相对湿度（RH）下，ΔE/E高达90%，ΔσY /σY高达70%。在50 - 95%的RH范围内，10 wt% ZPR的复合膜在110°C时的面内电导率达到0.43 S cm⁻¹，平均比原始PFSA的电导率高30%。10 wt% ZPR膜在50% RH时与纯PFSA膜一样水合，但在80°C和110°C时，随着RH增加，水合程度逐渐降低。该膜在80°C和30% RH下的燃料电池性能优于未改性的PFSA。
