Journal
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
Volume 160, Issue -, Pages 185-194Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2015.02.070
Keywords
Nafion; mesoporous silica; imidazole; glass transition temperature; proton conductivity
Categories
Funding
- Major State Basic Research Development Program of China 973 Project [2012CB215504]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [51372192, 51376058]
- National Hi-Tech R&D Program of China [2014AA052501]
- Science and Technology Support Program of Hubei Province [2013BAA094]
- Open Foundation from State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing of WHUT [2014-KF-14]
- Project for Foshan Innovation Groups [2014IT100062]
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Although Nafion is regarded as the most preferred electrolyte membrane and often used as a benchmark for comparative evaluation of other electrolyte membranes, its wide spread for commercial PEM fuel cells is limited by the poor electrochemical properties at elevated temperatures and low relative humidity conditions. Herein, sol-gel synthesized mesoporous silica functionalized with a protogenic molecule (imidazole) is introduced into the Nafion matrix via a colloid mediated process. The formation of a stable colloid enables homogeneous dispersion of the silica-imidazole nanoparticles without aggregation. Under non-humidified conditions, the amphoteric and self-dissociative character of the tethered imidazole within the matrix functions as a transporting medium to facilitate proton conductivity. The structural and chemical phases are characterized, and qualitatively evaluated by XRD, TEM, FT-IR, TGA, and DMA. The results show that the average proton conductivity of the composite membrane with the optimal amount of functionalized nanoparticles increases progressively to 1.06 x 10 (2) S cm (1) at 130 degrees C, corresponding to an activation energy of 6.95 kJ mol (1) under non-humidified conditions. The mechanism governing the dynamics of proton conductivity and structural limitations as a function of temperature is discussed. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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