Novel sulfonated polysulfone (SPS) based composite polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) filled with polydopamine modified carbon nanotubes (PD-CNTs) have been prepared using the phase inversion technique. The present study reports the development of novel and cost- efficient nanocomposite materials with excellent properties for polymer electrolyte membranes preparation. The progress is noteworthy towards the synthesis of economical organic-inorganic nanocomposites through which fuel cell related properties can be tailored. The applicability of prepared PEMs for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) has been investigated in terms of water uptake, methanol permeability, and proton conductivity by changing the filler content (0.5–1.0 wt. %). The carbon nanotubes were surface functionalized using polydopamine (PD) as the modifying agent. The resultant functionalized carbon nanotubes (PD-CNTs) have been incorporated into SPS polymer matrix to prepare the composite PEMs. The functional groups, structural properties, elemental analysis, morphological and topographical aspects of the resulting composite membranes were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. It was found that PD served as an outstanding glue because of its adhesive qualities, facilitated the homogeneous dispersion of CNTs into the polymer matrix, and created new proton-conducting pathways in the subsequent membranes. A detailed analysis showed that water uptake and proton-conducting properties of the engineered PEMs have been improved significantly. Composite membarne (0.5 wt. % PD-CNTs) showed 43 % increase in proton conductivity compared to the pristine SPS membrane, increasing from 0.085 S/cm for pristin to 0.1216 S/cm for the composite membrane at 80 °C. The prepared PEMs also showed an impressive 75 % decrease in methanol permeability (5.68 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/s) compared to recast Nafion®117 membarne (23.00 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/s). These results demonstrated the immense potential of polydopamine functionalized CNTs based PEMs for DMFC application. The ability of the newly synthesized membrane to retain water, and its capability to give a structural framework for maximum proton conductivity with reduced fuel crossover towards the catalyst are the significant advances from the present study.

使用相转化技术已经制备了填充有聚多巴胺改性的碳纳米管（PD-CNT）的新型基于磺化聚砜（SPS）的复合聚合物电解质膜（PEM）。本研究报告了新型且具有成本效益的纳米复合材料的发展，该材料具有优异的聚合物电解质膜制备性能。在合成经济的有机-无机纳米复合材料方面可取得显着进展，通过这种合成可以调整燃料电池的相关性能。通过改变填料含量（0.5–1.0 wt。％），已研究了制备的PEM在直接甲醇燃料电池（DMFC）上的吸水率，甲醇渗透性和质子传导率的适用性。使用聚多巴胺（PD）作为改性剂对碳纳米管进行表面功能化。将所得的官能化碳纳米管（PD-CNT）掺入SPS聚合物基体中以制备复合PEM。使用傅立叶变换红外光谱（FTIR），X射线衍射（XRD），能量色散X射线光谱仪（EDS），扫描电子对所得复合膜的官能团，结构性质，元素分析，形态和形貌方面进行了表征显微镜（SEM）和透射电子显微镜（TEM）。发现PD由于其粘合特性而成为优异的胶，促进了CNT均匀分散到聚合物基质中，并在随后的膜中产生了新的质子传导途径。详细分析表明，工程化PEM的吸水率和质子传导性能已得到显着改善。与原始SPS膜相比，复合膜（0.5 wt。％PD-CNTs）的质子传导率增加了43％，在80°C下从pristin的0.085 S / cm增加到复合膜的0.1216 S / cm。制备的PEM还显示出甲醇渗透率显着降低了75％（5.68×10^-7 cm ² / s），而重铸的Nafion®117membarne（23.00×10 ^-7 cm ² / s）。这些结果证明了基于聚多巴胺官能化的CNTs的PEM在DMFC应用中的巨大潜力。从目前的研究来看，新合成的膜保留水的能力及其提供最大质子传导性的结构框架的能力，同时减少了燃料向催化剂的渗透。