In this study, Nafion proton exchange membranes with incorporated silica-coated Co₃O₄ nanoparticles (Nafion/CT) were prepared. The nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized using FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD, magnetic measurements, TEM, SEM, and EDX spectroscopy. Thereafter, the nanoparticles were employed as an effective additive so as to improve the Nafion/CT properties. To do so, the spherical core-shell nanoparticles (Co₃O₄ diameter 12 nm; SiO₂ layer thickness 20 nm) were aligned by a magnetic field in the Nafion matrix during solution casting and solvent evaporation. The thus obtained nanocomposite membranes, including control samples without particles or with particles but without alignment, were investigated with respect to their structure by SEM, EDX, and XPS analyses, and also with regard to their water uptake, proton conductivity, and methanol permeability. Overall, the aligned nanocomposite membranes showed much better performance than that of randomly dispersed nanocomposite membranes. The data indicate that regarding aligned structure, the proton transfer channels in the membrane matrix become less tortuous so that proton transfer through the membrane occurs faster while at the same time methanol transfer is partially blocked. The Nafion/CT nanocomposite membrane containing 1 wt% of CT exhibited a proton/methanol selectivity at 25 °C of 6.04 × 10⁴ S s⁻¹ cm⁻³, whereas the pristine Nafion membrane showed a selectivity of 4.2 × 10⁴ S s⁻¹ cm⁻³. The nanofiller alignment by magnetic field improved the proton conductivity at 90 °C from 0.14 S cm⁻¹ (no field) to 0.18 S cm⁻¹.

在这项研究中，制备了掺有二氧化硅涂层的Co ₃ O ₄纳米颗粒的Nafion质子交换膜（Nafion / CT）。使用FT-IR光谱，XRD，磁测量，TEM，SEM和EDX光谱对纳米颗粒进行合成和表征。此后，将纳米颗粒用作有效添加剂以改善Nafion / CT性能。为此，使用球形核-壳纳米颗粒（Co ₃ O ₄直径为12 nm； SiO ₂在溶液流延和溶剂蒸发过程中，通过Nafion基质中的磁场使层厚度20 nm）对准。通过SEM，EDX和XPS分析，对由此获得的纳米复合膜（包括没有颗粒或具有颗粒但没有取向的对照样品）的结构，吸水率，质子传导率和甲醇渗透性进行了研究。总体而言，对准的纳米复合膜表现出比随机分散的纳米复合膜更好的性能。数据表明，关于排列的结构，膜基质中的质子传递通道变得不那么曲折，从而使质子穿过膜的传递更快，同时甲醇的传递被部分阻止。⁴  S s ^-1  cm ^-3，而原始的Nafion膜的选择性为4.2×10 ⁴  S s ^-1  cm ^-3。通过磁场的纳米填料取向将质子电导率在90°C下从0.14 S cm ^-1（无电场）提高到0.18 S cm ^-1。