The chemical crosslinking effect of polybenzimidazole/polyvinyl alcohol blend membranes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells: An experimental study

Çalı A., AR İ.

Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1002/app.56134
  • Dergi Adı: Journal of Applied Polymer Science
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, PASCAL, Aerospace Database, Applied Science & Technology Source, Biotechnology Research Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Chimica, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, INSPEC, Metadex, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: blends, crosslinking, mechanical properties, polycondensation, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)
  • Gazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

In this survey, the different weight ratios of polybenzimidazole (PBI)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blend polymer membranes were produced using the solution-casting method. The crosslinking agents of phosphoric acid (PA) and glutaraldehyde (GA) were studied separately to prevent the PVA water solubility in the PBI/PVA blend membrane structure. The GA crosslinking (24 h) successfully prevented membrane solubility, reducing it to below 1%. The chemically crosslinked blend membrane (Cr-PBI/PVA-9:1) has the highest proton conductivity result which is 0.209 S cm−1 at 80°C and it has excellent oxidative stability since the membrane only lost 4% of its weight in a Fenton agent after 96 h. The Cr-PBI/PVA-9:1 also has higher proton conductivity than the commercial PBI membrane (0.122 S cm−1 at 80°C). The glass transition temperature of the synthesized Cr-PBI/PVA-9:1 blend membrane is greater than the synthesized PBI membrane (390°C). The current density and power density measured at 0.6 V for the synthesized Cr-PBI/PVA-9:1 membrane were found to be 504 mA cm−2and 251 mW cm−2. This work sheds light on the potential use of PVA in PEMFC applications by mixing PVA with a high-temperature polymer like PBI and crosslinking the membrane with a prepared GA crosslinking agent.