Crosslinked Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membranes with sulfonated CNT (SCNT) fillers were synthesized using solution casting method for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Sulfonated CNTs are reported to be one of the best additives in ionic membranes as they increase the ionic conductivity and mechanical strength of the membrane. CNTs are high aspect ratio carbon allotropes, and small quantities of SCNTs (0.01 wt%, 0.1 wt%, 0.5 wt%, and 1 wt%) are observed to make a significant difference in properties of membranes. These membranes were characterized for water uptake capacity, ion exchange capacity, and mechanical strength. Ionic conductivity, hydrogen pumping, polarization studies, and gas crossover studies were performed in situ under various conditions of humidity. PVA–SSA–0.1 wt% SCNT showed the maximum power density among all compositions tested while short term performance of PVA–SSA–0.5 wt% SCNT exhibited the least sensitivity to changes in reactant humidity. Nafion® 115 produced 0.33 W cm⁻² at 0.4 V while PVA–SSA–0.1 wt% SCNT exhibited 0.21 W cm⁻² at 0.4 V. Overpotential associated with the purity of hydrogen gas was accounted for in the polarization curve and it resulted in a distinctly improved power density of 0.4 W cm⁻². Performance of PVA–SSA–SCNT membranes was compared with Nafion® 115 by various characterization techniques and the results indicate that the membranes developed are a cost-effective alternative to Nafion® with the best performing PVA–SSA–SCNT membrane costing ≈1% of the cost of the Nafion® 115 membrane for similar performance.

中文翻译：

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具有质子交换膜燃料电池的具有磺化碳纳米管的机械稳定且经济可行的聚乙烯醇基膜

采用溶液浇铸法合成了质子交换膜燃料电池（PEMFC），合成了具有磺化CNT（SCNT）填料的交联聚乙烯醇（PVA）膜。据报道，磺化碳纳米管是离子膜中最好的添加剂之一，因为它们可以增加膜的离子电导率和机械强度。CNT是高纵横比的碳同素异形体，观察到少量的SCNT（0.01 wt％，0.1 wt％，0.5 wt％和1 wt％）使膜的性能产生显着差异。这些膜的特征在于吸水能力，离子交换能力和机械强度。离子电导率，氢气泵送，极化研究和气体穿越研究均在原位进行在各种湿度条件下。PVA–SSA–0.1 wt％SCNT在所有测试的组合物中均显示出最大的功率密度，而PVA–SSA–0.5 wt％SCNT的短期性能则对反应物湿度变化的敏感性最小。Nafion®115在0.4 V时产生0.33 W cm ^-2，而PVA–SSA–0.1 wt％SCNT在0.4 V时产生0.21 W cm ^-2。极化曲线解释了与氢气纯度有关的过电势，这导致了功率密度显着提高，为0.4 W cm ^-2。通过各种表征技术将PVA–SSA–SCNT膜的性能与Nafion®115进行了比较，结果表明，开发的膜是Nafion®的一种经济高效的替代品，性能最佳的PVA–SSA–SCNT膜的成本约为1％。类似性能的Nafion®115膜的成本。