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Incorporating of sulfo ethyl cellulose to augment the performance of sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) composite for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

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Abstract

Composite membranes comprising sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) blended with varying proportions of sulfo ethyl cellulose (SEC) at 5 wt% and 10 wt% were fabricated for fuel cell application. The structural, morphological, and thermal properties of these membranes were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The composite membranes exhibited enhanced thermal stability and  increased water absorption compared to the pristine SPEEK. Moreover, the proton conductivity of the composite membranes surpassed that of pure SPEEK, reaching up to 110 mS/cm at temperatures exceeding 100 °C.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Ms. Steffi Stumpf for operating the SEM instrument. The facilities of the Jena Center for Soft Matter (JCSM) were established with a grant from the German Research Council (DFG). We are indebted to Dr. Thomas Schulze (Thuringian Institute for Textile and Plastics Research, Rudolstadt, Germany) for conducting the XRD measurements and Dr. Kay Hettrich (Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research, Golm, Germany) for providing the DVS-results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanomaterials and Systems for Renewable Energy Laboratory, Research and Technology Center of Energy, Technoparc Borje Cedria, BP 095, Hammam Lif, Tunisia

    Khaled Charradi, Zoubaida Landolsi & Zakarya Ahmed

  2. Centre of Excellence for Polysaccharide Research, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Humboldtstraße 10, 07743, Jena, Germany

    Lars Gabriel, Andreas Koschella & Thomas Heinze

  3. Laboratory Water, Membranes and Biotechnology of the Environment, Technoparc Borje Cedria, 8020, Soliman, Tunisia

    Walid Mabrouk

  4. Department of Biology, Fresno State University, Fresno, CA, USA

    Abdelrahman Elnaggar

  5. Become Deep Tech & Nanoscience 63 Rue de Tolbiac, 75013, Paris, France

    Sherif M. A. S. Keshk

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  1. Khaled Charradi
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Correspondence to Khaled Charradi.

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Charradi, K., Landolsi, Z., Gabriel, L. et al. Incorporating of sulfo ethyl cellulose to augment the performance of sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) composite for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. J Solid State Electrochem 27, 3415–3423 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-023-05629-0

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