Mesoporous hollow silica spheres as micro-water-tanks in proton exchange membranes

In order to decrease the swelling of Nafion® and reduce the dependency of proton conductivity on high relative humidity (RH), mesoporous hollow silica spheres were synthesized and dispersed in Nafion matrix as micro-water-tanks in the proton exchange membranes (PEM). The morphologies of MHSi and Naf...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymer testing 2017-05, Vol.59, p.423-429
Main Authors: Jiang, Fengjing, Zhang, Yue, Tong, Yijun, Yu, Qingchun, Hu, Mingruo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Conductivity
Dehydration
Fuel cell
Humidity
Membranes
Morphology
Proton exchange membrane
Relative humidity
Scanning electron microscopy
Silica
Silicon dioxide
Studies
Swelling
Tanks
Water retention
Water tanks
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In order to decrease the swelling of Nafion® and reduce the dependency of proton conductivity on high relative humidity (RH), mesoporous hollow silica spheres were synthesized and dispersed in Nafion matrix as micro-water-tanks in the proton exchange membranes (PEM). The morphologies of MHSi and Nafion/MHSi composite membranes are characterized by SEM and TEM. The effects of MHSi on water uptake, swelling, dehydration rate and proton conductivity of the composite membranes were investigated. The results show that, with a suitable portion of MHSi in the membrane, composite PEMs with enhanced water uptake, reduced swelling and improved proton conductivity are obtained.
ISSN:0142-9418
1873-2348
DOI:10.1016/j.polymertesting.2017.02.025