Formation of a High Conductivity Fuel Cell Electrolyte by Pressing Diphenylsiloxane-Based Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Particles

• Published in: Journal of the American Ceramic Society Vol. 92; no. s1; pp. S185 - S188
• Main Authors: Daiko, Yusuke, Sakakibara, Saki, Sakamoto, Hisatoshi, Katagiri, Kiyofumi, Muto, Hiroyuki, Sakai, Mototsugu, Matsuda, Atsunori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.01.2009; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Ceramics; Conductivity; Electrolytes; Fuel cells; Protons; Silica
• ISSN: 0002-7820; 1551-2916
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1551-2916.2008.02640.x

An inorganic–organic nanohybrid particle with a two‐dimensional chain structure, diphenylsiloxane‐silica (Ph2SiO–SiO2), was prepared by sol–gel process using diphenyldiethoxysilane (DPDES) and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), and a high proton conducting polymer of poly(2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl‐1‐propane sulfonic acid) (PAMPS) was deposited on the Ph2SiO–SiO2 particles via layer‐by‐layer assembly. A flexible sheet‐like electrolyte was successfully obtained from the resulting PAMPS‐deposited particles by pressing. The proton conductivity of the sheet prepared using unmodified Ph2SiO–SiO2 particles was lower than 10−9 S/cm at 80°C. On the other hand, the PAMPS‐deposited samples showed proton conductivities ∼7 orders of magnitude higher than those of the sample prepared using unmodified particles, and their conductivity reached about 1 × 10−2 S/cm at 80°C and 80% relative humidity. This is ascribed to the PAMPS layer being concentrated at the particle interfaces, which percolated throughout the monolithic sample.