Nafion-Peptized Laponite Clay Nanocomposite Membrane for PEMFC
| Periodical | Advanced Materials Research (Volume 410) |
|---|---|
| Main Theme | Processing and Fabrication of Advanced Materials |
| Edited by | Alan K.T. Lau, T. S. Srivatsan, Debes Bhattacharyya, Ming Qiu Zhang and Mabel M. P. Ho |
| Pages | 148-151 |
| DOI | 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.410.148 |
| Citation | Ananta Kumar Mishra et al., 2011, Advanced Materials Research, 410, 148 |
| Online since | November, 2011 |
| Authors | Ananta Kumar Mishra, Seon Hyeong Bae, Nam Hoon Kim, Kin Tak Lau, Joong Hee Lee |
| Keywords | Clay, Membrane, Nafion, Nanocomposite, Peptizer, Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (FEMFC), Proton Conductivity |
| Price | US$ 28,- |
Nafion-clay nanocomposite membrane has been prepared by dispersing unmodified and acid activated Laponite XLS in Nafion 20% dispersion. The resulting membranes possess better proton conductivity and mechanical strength as compared to the virgin membrane. Acid activation of the nanoclay leads to the in-situ generation of H3PO4 by the hydrolysis of the peptizer present on the surface of the nanoclay. The in-situ generated H3PO4 helps in improving all the technical properties of the nanocomposite including the water uptake and proton conductivity of the nanocomposite, containing acid activated clay compared to the nanocomposite, containing unmodified clay. The maximum proton conductivity of 270.2 mS/cm is achieved at 110 oC for the nanocomposite membrane containing 3% acid-activated Laponite compared to 136.2 mS/cm for the virgin Nafion. Keywords: Nafion, clay, nanocomposite, peptizer, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (FEMFC), proton conductivity, membrane