Organic/inorganic membranes based on sulfonated poly(vinyl alcohol) (SPVA) and in situ prepared TiO2 nanoparticles nanocomposite membranes with various compositions were prepared to use as proton exchange membranes in direct membrane fuel cells. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was sulfonated and cross-linked separately by 4-formylbenzene-1,3-disulfonic acid disodium salt hydrate and glutaraldehyde. The ion exchange capacity and proton conductivity of the membranes increased with increasing amount of TiO2 nanoparticles. The composite membranes with 15 wt% TiO2 exhibited excellent proton conductivity of 0.0822 S cm-1, as well as remarkably low methanol permeability of 1.11×10-9 cm2 s-1. The thermal stability and durability were also superior and performance in methanol fuel cell was also reasonably good
Keywords:
TiO2 nanoparticles; sulfonated PVA; proton exchange membrane; direct methanol fuel cell; methanol permeability.
