Synergic effect of ionic liquid grafted titanate nanotubes on the performance of anion exchange membrane fuel cell

Titanate nano tubes, prepared by hydrothermal method, are covalently bonded with a basic ionic liquid (1-Methyl-3-(3-trimethoxysilylpropyl) imidazolium chloride) resulting in an ion exchange behaviour. The ionic liquid bonded Titanate nano tubes are characterised by SEM, TEM, XRD studies for their nano tube morphology and covalent bond between them which are confirmed by solid state NMR and FTIR. This synthesised filler, in various concentrations (1, 3, 5 and 7 wt%), are incorporated into quatemised polysulfone leading to the fabrication of nano composite membranes with high ion exchange capacity. The fabricated nano composite membranes are characterised by SEM, XRD, water uptake, ion exchange capacity and hydroxyl conductivity studies to evaluate their suitability as an electrolyte in alkaline fuel cell applications. Upon testing these membranes in fuel cell setup with platinum anode and silver cathode, amongst the various composites, the membrane with 5% wt filler exhibits the most optimum properties for application in alkaline fuel cells with a power density of 302 mW/cm(2). The existence of ion exchange behaviour as well as the hollow nature of titanate nano tubes leads to synergistic effect in conducting the hydroxyl ions via both Grotthus (through water molecules) and hopping (through ion exchange groups) mechanisms.