Abstracto

Fabrication and characterization of sulfonated poly ether ether ketone/phosphotungstic acid composite membranes for fuel cell applications

S.Guhan,D.Sangeetha,S.Ravichandran

The feasibility of sulfonated polyether ether ketone(SPEEK)/Phosphotungstic acid composite membranes for use in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) was investigated. The composite membranes were obtained by simple solvent casting technique. The homogenous membranes were characterized by various methods. The FTIR spectroscopy showed a good mixup of the constituents in the composite. The TGA and DSC techniques revealed the thermal suitability of the composite for applications above 100°C. The SEM analysis clearly showed the amorphous nature of the composite. The conductivity was found to be in the order of 10-3 S/cm which is good for PEMFC application. The mechanical properties was also studied and found to be lying in the range for fuel cell application.