Robust anion exchange membranes based on ionic liquid grafted chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol/quaternary ammonium functionalized silica for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.

In this study, 1-bromohexyl-1methylpiperidinium bromide (Br-6-MPRD) ionic liquid grafted quaternized chitosan (QCS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blends were composited with glycidyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (GTMAC) quaternized silica (QSiO2) at different dosages. Glutaraldehyde (GA) crosslinked the membranes and then processed into hydroxide form with an aqueous potassium hydroxide solution. The resultant IL-QCS/PVA/QSiO2 membranes exhibit significantly improved ionic conductivity, moderate water absorption and swelling ratio compared with the pristine IL-QCS/PVA anion exchange membrane (AEM). Among them, the hydroxide ion conductivity and power density of IL-QCS/PVA/QSiO2-7 membrane can reach up to 78 mS cm-1 at 80 °C and 115 mW cm-2 at 60 °C respectively. In addition, IL-QCS/PVA/QSiO2 membranes have excellent thermal, mechanical, and chemical stabilities, which can meet the application requirements of AEM for fuel cells.

Blended Anion Exchange Membranes for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries.

In this study, blended anion exchange membranes were prepared using polyphenylene oxide containing quaternary ammonium groups and polyvinylidene fluoride. A polyvinylidene fluoride with high hydrophobicity was blended in to lower the vanadium ion permeability, which increased when the hydrophilicity increased. At the same time, the dimensional stability also improved due to the excellent physical properties of polyvinylidene fluoride. Subsequently, permeation of the vanadium ions was prevented due to the positive charge of the anion exchange membrane, and thus the permeability was relatively lower than that of a commercial proton exchange membrane. Due to the above properties, the self-discharge of the blended anion exchange membrane (30.1 h for QA-PPO/PVDF(2/8)) was also lower than that of the commercial proton exchange membrane (27.9 h for Nafion), and it was confirmed that it was an applicable candidate for vanadium redox flow batteries.

In-situ thermal phase transition and structural investigation of ferroelectric tetragonal barium titanate nanopowders with pseudo-cubic phase.

Optimization and miniaturization of existing electronic devices require the development of advanced nanostructured materials with high phase and structural purity. Over the past decade, barium titanate (BaTiO3) has attracted considerable attention due to its outstanding ferroelectric and dielectric properties. The present study involved the investigation of the phase transition and structural stability of tetragonal BaTiO3 nanopowders with pseudo-cubic phase using an in-situ high resolution and high temperature X-ray diffraction method. Under ambient conditions, the coexistence the tetragonal and cubic phases with weight fractions of 75.7% and 24.3%, respectively, was determined in BaTiO3. In the temperature range of 25 °C-300 °C, phase boundaries of BaTiO3 (180 nm in size) exhibiting several phases were detected. The phase transformation behavior, relative crystal phase content, lattice parameters, crystallite size, and tetragonality of the BaTiO3 nanopowders were established by the Rietveld refinement method at the onset temperature from 25 °C to 300 °C. Up to 150 °C, the nanopowders exhibited a complete transition of the cubic phase. Additionally, a complete tetragonal to cubic transformation was accomplished by a decrease of tetragonality at 125 °C and an increase in the crystallite size at 300 °C.

Anion Exchange Composite Membranes Composed of Quaternary Ammonium-Functionalized Poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) and Silica for Fuel Cell Application.

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) with good alkaline stability and ion conductivity are fabricated by incorporating quaternary ammonium-modified silica into quaternary ammonium-functionalized poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (QPPO). Quaternary ammonium with a long alkyl chain is chemically grafted to the silica in situ during synthesis. Glycidyltrimethylammoniumchloride functionalization on silica (QSiO2) is characterized by Fourier transform infrared and transmission electron microscopic techniques. The QPPO/QSiO2 membrane having an ion exchange capacity of 3.21 meq·g-1 exhibits the maximum hydration number (λ = 11.15) and highest hydroxide ion conductivity of 45.08 × 10-2 S cm-1 at 80 °C. In addition to the high ion conductivity, AEMs also exhibit good alkaline stability, and the conductivity retention of the QPPO/QSiO2-3 membrane after 1200 h of exposure in 1 M potassium hydroxide at room temperature is about 91% ascribed to the steric hindrance offered by the grafted long glycidyl trimethylammonium chain in QSiO2. The application of the QPPO/QSiO2-3 membrane to an alkaline fuel cell can yield a peak power density of 142 mW cm-2 at a current density of 323 mA cm-2 and 0.44 V, which is higher than those of commercially available FAA-3-50 Fumatech AEM (OCV: 0.91 V; maximum power density: 114 mW cm-2 at current density: 266 mA cm-2 and 0.43 V). These membranes provide valuable insights on future directions for advanced AEM development for fuel cells.

Investigation of Formation for Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Membrane Using Thermally Induced Phase Separation.

In this study, thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) was used to fabricate a water treatment membrane composed of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and silica. Dioctyl phthalate (DOP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) were used as diluents. Crystallization temperature, cloud point, and morphology were observed to investigate the conditions of PVDF/silica/diluent membrane preparation. SEM revealed that the porosity of the membranes was increased with an increase in silica content. Phase diagram and morphology results revealed that 50 wt% PVDF+silica with a PVDF:silica weight ratio of 4.5:1 is the best composition for manufacturing a porous membrane.