A poly(vinyl alcohol)-based composite membrane with immobilized phosphotungstic acid molecules for direct methanol fuel cells
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- 作者：Yinhui Li ; Haining Wang ; Qiuxia Wu ; Xin Xu ; Shanfu Lu ; lusf@buaa.edu.cn ; Yan Xiang
- 关键词：poly(vinyl alcohol) ; phosphotungstic acid ; carbon nanotubes ; electrostatic self-assembly ; direct methanol fuel cells
- 刊名：Electrochimica Acta
- 出版年：2017
- 出版时间：10 January 2017
- 年：2017
- 卷：224
- 期：Complete
- 页码：369-377
- 全文大小：3332 K
- 卷排序：224
文摘
Phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40, HPW) molecules were anchored onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by electrostatic self-assembly using poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA); subsequent incorporation of these particles into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) afforded a methanol-blocking membrane for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) application. The prepared membrane exhibited a significantly higher proton conductivity of 9.4 mS cm−1 at 60 °C and satisfactory proton conductivity stability over a 120-h test than a PVA membrane. Moreover, the composite membrane showed a decrease in the methanol permeability by ∼40% compared to a PVA membrane (6.10 × 10−7 cm2 s−1) and much better proton-to-methanol selectivity because of a higher dimensional stability after the incorporation of CNTs. A single DMFC based on the prepared membrane exhibited a maximum power density of 16 mW cm−2 at 60 °C. Thus, CNT-PDDA-HPW/PVA membranes have a great potential as an alternative proton exchange membrane for DMFC application.