Composite nafion-catio3-δ membranes as electrolyte component for pem fuel cells
Journal article, 2020

Manufacturing new electrolytes with high ionic conductivity has been a crucial challenge in the development and large-scale distribution of fuel cell devices. In this work, we present two Nafion composite membranes containing a non-stoichiometric calcium titanate perovskite (CaTiO3−δ ) as a filler. These membranes are proposed as a proton exchange electrolyte for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell devices. More precisely, two different perovskite concentrations of 5 wt% and 10 wt%, with respect to Nafion, are considered. The structural, morphological, and chemical properties of the composite membranes are studied, revealing an inhomogeneous distribution of the filler within the polymer matrix. Direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) tests, at 110◦ C and 2 M methanol concentration, were also performed. It was observed that the membrane containing 5 wt% of the additive allows the highest cell performance in comparison to the other samples, with a maximum power density of about 70 mW cm−2 at 200 mA cm−2 . Consequently, the ability of the perovskite structure to support proton carriers is here confirmed, suggesting an interesting strategy to obtain successful materials for electrochemical devices.

CaTiO additive 3−δ

Composite polymer electrolytes

Oxygen vacancies

Author

Lucia Mazzapioda

Sapienza University of Rome

Carmelo Lo Vecchio

Istituto Di Tecnologie Avanzate Per L'energia, Messina

Olesia Danyliv

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Vincenzo Baglio

Istituto Di Tecnologie Avanzate Per L'energia, Messina

Anna Martinelli

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

M.A. Navarra

Sapienza University of Rome

Polymers

2073-4360 (eISSN)

Vol. 12 9 1-14 2019

Subject Categories

Polymer Chemistry

Textile, Rubber and Polymeric Materials

Materials Chemistry

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Areas of Advance

Energy

DOI

10.3390/polym12092019

PubMed

32899679

More information

Latest update

6/22/2021