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Proton conducting blend membranes: physical, morphological and electronic properties

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Abstract

Blend membranes of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) and sulfonated polyetherimide (SPEI) have been prepared and investigated as a potential polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). Polymers were dissolved in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) in different mixing ratios and membranes were casted using a semi-automatic casting machine on a pre-cleaned glass plate. The influence of SPEI percentage on ion exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake, methanol permeability and proton exchange capacity have been investigated. Blend membranes showed slightly better IEC, water uptake and methanol crossover properties as compare to pure SPEEK; but proton conductivity was slightly lower than that of pure SPEEK membrane. Membrane morphology was investigated by FESEM, TGA and AFM. Overall, a homogeneous surface was observed for most of the blend membranes, with minor phase separation at higher SPEI contents samples. AFM image of the membrane surface shows nanoscale surface roughness.

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Acknowledgments

Authors would like to thank the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) through NSTIP office at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, for funding this work under the Project No. 10-ENE1374-04.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy (CoRERE), King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia

    Amir Al-Ahmed

  2. Chemistry Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia

    Mazen Khaled Nazal

  3. Center for Integrative Petroleum Research, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, 31261, Saudi Arabia

    Abdullah S. Sultan & Jimoh K. Adewole

  4. QAFAC Chair, Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar

    Syed Javaid Zaidi

Authors
  1. Amir Al-Ahmed
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  2. Mazen Khaled Nazal
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  3. Abdullah S. Sultan
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  4. Jimoh K. Adewole
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  5. Syed Javaid Zaidi
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Correspondence to Abdullah S. Sultan or Syed Javaid Zaidi.

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Al-Ahmed, A., Nazal, M.K., Sultan, A.S. et al. Proton conducting blend membranes: physical, morphological and electronic properties. Polym. Bull. 74, 963–975 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-016-1756-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-016-1756-6

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