Structural and Thermal properties of functionalized biopolymer based polymer electrolyte membranes for fuel cell applications

Abstract

Polymer electrolyte membranes based on organic – inorganic nanocomposites consisting of sulfonated
chitosan and sulfonated titania are developed using simple solution casting technique. Compared to pure chitosan
membranes, sulfonated titania incorporated membranes exhibit higher thermal, oxidative stabilities and better structural
property due to the strong electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding between the polymer and nanoparticles. The
miscibility studies have been performed by using X-ray diffraction spectrometer. Nanocomposite membrane filled with 8
wt% s-TiO2 has the highest proton conductivity of 3.41 × 10-2
S/cm at room temperature. The membranes were also
characterized using techniques such as SEM and AFM. All the prepared s-CS/PEO/s-TiO2 nanocomposite membranes
exhibit better thermal stability. Sulfonated chitosan/PEO/s-TiO2 membrane exhibits the best overall performance as a
membrane, which is mainly due to the strong interactions between chitosan matrix and nanoparticles. The present study
provides a promising strategy for the design and fabrication of high performance polymer electrolyte membranes for fuel
cell applications, which is cost effective and eco friendly.