Quaternized Polyethersulfone (QPES) Membrane with Imidazole Functionalized Graphene Oxide (ImGO) for Alkaline Anion Exchange Fuel Cell Application

Membranes made up of composite materials have shown promising advantages for application in alkaline fuel cell anion exchange membranes. In this study, a general method is employed to improve the overall performance and properties of alkaline anion exchange membranes by making use of polyethersulfone quaternized with imidazolium groups and blended with imidazolium functionalized graphene oxide inorganic filler (ImGO). The inorganic filler blended with the polymer matrix yielded better ionic transport, with 73.2 mS center dot cm(-1) being the highest ion conductivity for the polymer membrane with 0.5% ImGO content, which is higher than that of the QPES parent material. The 0.5% ImGO content also showed better swelling ratio, water uptake, alkaline stability, ion exchange capacity and alkaline stability in comparison to other membranes. Furthermore, it also exhibited 130 mW center dot cm(-2) peak power.

Automated summary

In this study, a general method was used to improve the overall performance of alkaline anion exchange membranes by blending polyethersulfone quaternized with imidazolium groups with imidazolium functionalized graphene oxide inorganic filler (ImGO). The 0.5% ImGO content showed better ionic transport, swelling ratio, water uptake, alkaline stability, ion exchange capacity, and exhibited a peak power of 130 mW·cm(-2).