Kim Hee Jin, Talukdar Krishan, Kim Young Ho, Lee Ho-Chang, Choi Sang-June
J Nanosci Nanotechnol. 2015 Nov;15(11):8825-31. doi: 10.1166/jnn.2015.11521.
Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are an up-and-coming technology for green and efficient power generation and offer a clean alternative to current technologies that use hydrocarbon fuel sources. In this paper, a reinforcing membrane was fabricated by Polyethylenimine polymer. Oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotube was dispersed into the PEI/Nafion membranes to achieve additional strength. The membranes were acidified via absorption of phosphoric acid from aqueous solution to make semi-interpenetrating polymer network (s-IPNs) which increases the proton conductivity by producing proton channel in the membrane. The PEI/Nafion/ox-MWCNT composite membranes show excellent phosphoric acid retention and high humidity, which impart a high ion exchange capacity (IEC) as well as improved proton conductivity. The surface morphologies and cross-sections of the resulting H3PO4 treated PEI/Nafion/ox-MWCNT composite membranes were observed using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The improvements in the thermal properties of the prepared PEI/Nafion/ox-MWCNT composite membranes were determined using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). These performance results combined with the low inexpensive synthetic approach substantiate the potential for the new membrane to be used in PEMFCs.
聚合物电解质膜燃料电池（PEMFCs）是一种新兴的绿色高效发电技术，为当前使用碳氢燃料源的技术提供了一种清洁的替代方案。在本文中，通过聚乙烯亚胺聚合物制备了一种增强膜。将氧化多壁碳纳米管分散到PEI/纳滤膜中以获得额外的强度。通过从水溶液中吸收磷酸对膜进行酸化，制成半互穿聚合物网络（s-IPN），该网络通过在膜中产生质子通道来提高质子传导率。PEI/纳滤膜/氧化多壁碳纳米管复合膜表现出优异的磷酸保留率和高湿度，这赋予了高离子交换容量（IEC）以及改善的质子传导率。使用光学显微镜和扫描电子显微镜（SEM）观察了所得经H3PO4处理的PEI/纳滤膜/氧化多壁碳纳米管复合膜的表面形态和横截面。使用热重分析（TGA）确定了制备的PEI/纳滤膜/氧化多壁碳纳米管复合膜热性能的改善情况。这些性能结果与低成本的合成方法相结合，证实了这种新型膜在PEMFCs中应用的潜力。
