Preparation of anion exchangeable titanate nanotubes and their effect on anion exchange membrane fuel cell

Publication date: 15 September 2018
Source:Materials & Design, Volume 154
Author(s): Vijayakumar Elumalai, Dharmalingam Sangeetha
In the present study, Titanate Nano Tubes (TNT) were synthesised by hydrothermal method and functionalised with quaternary ammonium group via chloromethylation followed by amination. Quaternary ammonium functionalised TNT (QTNT) were characterized by FTIR, solid state CP/MAS ¹³C and CP/MAS ²⁹Si for their successful chemical modification and their nano tube morphology was confirmed by XRD, SEM and TEM analyses. The synthesised QTNT was then incorporated into Quaternary ammonium functionalised Polysulfone (QPSU) at various wt% (1, 3, 5 and 7) to form high density ion exchange (OH⁻) composite membranes. The morphology of the synthesised membranes were also characterized by SEM and XRD. Additionally, the membranes were tested for water uptake, Ion Exchange Capacity (IEC) and hydroxyl conductivity with respect to alkaline fuel cell application. The Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) consisting of Pt anode, Ag cathode and various QTNT composite membranes were fabricated and tested in an in-house built fuel cell setup. From the performance study, it was inferred that the membrane with 5% QTNT showed the maximum power density of 285 mW/cm² at 60 °C. The experimental results corroborate that addition of QTNT has the propensity to increase the performance of the anion exchange membrane significantly.

Graphical abstract

https://ift.tt/2Lcnajv