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Phosphorylated graphene oxide-reinforced polybenzimidazole composite membrane for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell

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Abstract

A novel phosphorylated graphene oxide (PGO)-reinforced polybenzimidazole (PBI) composite membrane was prepared for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC). PGO was prepared by phosphorylation of graphene oxide (GO) with phosphoric acid (PA), and its structure was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), and ion exchange capacity (IEC) measurement. Then, PGO was added into PBI to prepare composite membranes, with excellent oxidation and thermal stability, outstanding mechanical properties, strong PA uptake and high proton conductivity. The PBI composite membrane with 1.5 wt.% of PGO exhibits the highest tensile strength (38.4 MPa) and excellent proton conductivity (17.6 mS·cm−1 at 180 ℃ without moisture) after immersion in PA aqueous solution, which is 1.31 and 1.15 times higher than that of pure PBI and PBI/GO composite membranes, respectively. Thus, PGO-reinforced PBI composite membranes have promising applications in HT-PEMFC.

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Acknowledgements

This research is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21764011), the Foundation from Qinghai Science and Technology Department (2020-HZ-808), Thousand Talents Program of Qinghai Province and Shanghai Aerospace Science and Technology Innovation Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China

    Xuhui Zhao, Yunhua Lu, Chunyan Zhao & Shiai Xu

  2. Shanghai Aerospace Equipments Manufacture Co. Ltd, Shanghai, 200245, China

    Bohua Nan

  3. School of Chemical Engineering, Qinghai University, Xining, 810016, China

    Shiai Xu

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  1. Xuhui Zhao
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  2. Bohua Nan
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  3. Yunhua Lu
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  4. Chunyan Zhao
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Correspondence to Shiai Xu.

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Highlights

• PGO was synthesized by a facile one-step approach.

• PGO leads to formation of new proton channels and improvement of proton conductivity.

• PBI/PGO-1.5%-PA composite exhibits the highest tensile strength (38.4 MPa) and excellent proton conductivity (17.6 mS·cm−1) at 180 ℃ without moisture.

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Zhao, X., Nan, B., Lu, Y. et al. Phosphorylated graphene oxide-reinforced polybenzimidazole composite membrane for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell. J Polym Res 28, 480 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-021-02846-x

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