Poly(vinyl alcohol)/silica nanoparticles based anion-conducting nanocomposite membrane for fuel-cell applications

Abstract

Organic-inorganic heterogeneous hybrid anion conducting membranes were prepared by 1,4-diglycidyl butane ether (DGBE) aided chemical grafting of silica (SiO2) nanoparticles onto poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The membranes properties such as water uptake, thermo-mechanical attributes and ionic conductivity with respect to DGBE and SiO2 loadings were studied extensively. The membrane with composition of 15 wt% DGBE and 3 wt% of SiO2 enhances the tensile strength of PVA by 229%. The ionic conductivity of the membranes was observed to be in the range of 10(-4)-10(-3) Scm(-1) under 100% relative humidity. A linear increase in the ionic conductivity with temperature was demonstrated by all the membranes. The PVA nanocomposites appeared to be a potential candidate for application in alkaline fuel cell.