Utilization of mesoporous phosphotungstic acid in nanocellulose membranes for direct methanol fuel cells

Nanocellulose (NC) composite membranes containing novel ternary materials including NC, imidazole (Im), and mesoporous phosphotungstic acid (m-PTA) were successfully fabricated by a phase inversion method. The single-particle size of NC was 88.79 nm with a spherical form. A m-PTA filler with a mesopore size of 4.89 nm was also successfully synthesized by a self-assembly method. Moreover, the fabricated membrane NC/Im/m-PTA-5 exhibited the best performances towards its proton conductivity and methanol permeability at 31.88 mS cm(-1) and 1.74 x 10(-6) cm(2) s(-1), respectively. The membrane selectivity was 1.83 x 10(4) S cm(-3).

Automated summary

A nanocellulose composite membrane was successfully fabricated with novel ternary materials, showing excellent proton conductivity and methanol permeability. The mesoporous phosphotungstic acid filler with small mesopore size was synthesized via a self-assembly method, contributing to the membrane's superior performance.