Synthesis and characterization of poly(vinyl alcohol)-acid salt polymer electrolytes

A solid acid membranes based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), magnesium bromide (MgBr2) and phosphoric acid (H3PO4) were prepared by a solution casting method. The morphological, X-ray and electrical properties of the (PVA)((1-x))(MgBr2)(x/2)(H3PO4)(x/2) solid acid membranes where x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 wt% were investigated. The PVA polymer electrolyte directly blended with acid salt shows improvement in ionic conductivity and transport properties. The maximum ionic conductivity value of PVA/acid salt polymer electrolyte with x = 0.40 wt% of acid salt is around 1.64 x 10(-4) S cm(-1) at 20 degrees C and the ionic transport number (t(+)) is in the range of 0.98-0.99. In this work, the data shows that the (PVA)((1-x)) (MgBr2)(x/2) (H3PO4)(x/2) solid acid salt membrane is promising for intermediate temperature phosphoric acid fuel cell applications.