Preparation and Characterization of a Novel Sulfonated Titanium Oxide Incorporated Chitosan Nanocomposite Membranes for Fuel Cell Application
In this study, nano-TiO2 sulfonated with 1,3-propane sultone (STiO2) was incorporated into the chitosan (CS) matrix for the preparation of CS/STiO2 nanocomposite membranes for fuel cell applications. The grafting of sulfonic acid (–SO3H) groups was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscop...
Saved in:
Published in | Membranes (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 6; p. 450 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Basel
MDPI AG
17.06.2021
MDPI |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | In this study, nano-TiO2 sulfonated with 1,3-propane sultone (STiO2) was incorporated into the chitosan (CS) matrix for the preparation of CS/STiO2 nanocomposite membranes for fuel cell applications. The grafting of sulfonic acid (–SO3H) groups was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The physicochemical properties of these prepared membranes, such as water uptake, swelling ratio, thermal and mechanical stability, ion exchange capacity and proton conductivity, were determined. The proton conducting groups on the surface of nano-TiO2 can form continuous proton conducting pathways along the CS/STiO2 interface and thus improve the proton conductivity of CS/STiO2 nanocomposite membranes. The CS/STiO2 nanocomposite membrane with 5 wt% of sulfonated TiO2 showed a proton conductivity (0.035 S·cm−1) equal to that of commercial Nafion 117 membrane (0.033 S·cm−1). The thermal and mechanical stability of the nanocomposite membranes were improved because the interfacial interaction between the -SO3H group of TiO2 and the –NH2 group of CS can restrict the mobility of CS chains to enhance the thermal and mechanical stability of the nanocomposite membranes. These CS/STiO2 nanocomposite membranes have promising applications in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2077-0375 2077-0375 |
DOI: | 10.3390/membranes11060450 |