4.7 Article

Nanostructure-property relationship of two perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes

Journal

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH
Volume 46, Issue 8, Pages 11265-11277

Publisher

WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/er.7926

Keywords

Aquivion; Nafion; PFSA; proton exchange membrane; SAXS

Funding

  1. Korea Institute of Science and Technology
  2. National Research Foundation of Korea [2E31870] Funding Source: Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS)

Ask authors/readers for more resources

The physicochemical properties of PFSA polymers are closely related to their nanostructure, but the accurate morphology at the nanoscale is still controversial. This study focuses on the crystalline domain and ionic domain of two PFSA membranes using small-angle X-ray scattering. The hydration process significantly alters both domains, and the behavior depends on the side-chain length of the membranes.
The physicochemical properties of perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) polymers are closely correlated with their nanostructure. However, their real nano-structural morphology is still controversial because it is difficult to observe their accurate morphology at the nanoscale. Moreover, studies on the nanostructures of the PFSA membranes have been mainly focused on the ionic domain. On this basis, here we describe the crystalline domain of two PFSA membranes as well as their ionic domain based on small-angle X-ray scattering results. Both ionic and crystalline domains showed significant alterations during hydration, and the different behaviors based on the side-chain length of the two PFSA membranes are also described. The short side chain-tethered PFSA membrane (higher ion exchange capacity (IEC)) showed a widespread ionic domain and lacking crystalline domain with their relatively temperature-dependent tendency compared to the flexible long side chain-tethered PFSA membrane (lower IEC). On this basis, the correlation between nanostructure and membrane properties is described from various perspectives.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.7
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available