Poly (2, 6-dimethyl-1, 4-phenylene)/polysulfone anion exchange membrane blended with TiO2 with improved water uptake for alkaline fuel cell application

Abstract

A series of anion exchange membranes (AEM) based on poly (2, 6-dimethyl-1, 4-phenylene) (PPO) and polysulfone (PSF) blended with TiO2 were prepared and investigated. The water uptake, swelling ratio, ion exchange capacity, ion conductivity (IC) and thermal stability of the AEMs increased with increasing content of TiO2 within the composite membrane. The QPPO/PSF/TiO2 AEMs showed excellent thermal stability, high IC of 54.7 mS cm−1 at 80 °C, excellent alkaline stability and good performance when assembled in a methanol alkaline fuel cell. The highest peak power density of 118 mW cm−2 at a load current density of 300 mA cm−2 was observed for the QPPO/PSF/2%TiO2 composite membrane at 60 °C. The life time test of the fuel cell showed good membrane durability over a 60 h period. The results of this study suggest that the fabricated AEMs have good prospects for alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cell applications.