Inorganic mesoporous membrane for potentially used in proton exchange membrane

Abstract

Inorganic Mesoporous Membranes are a new alternative to improve high-temperature fuel cell performance in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) to substitute for Nafion. They possess high porosity and high specific surface areas, resulting in high proton conductivity. In this study, niobium-modified titania and antimony/niobium-modified titania ceramics were prepared via the sol-gel technique. The various contents of antimony, 0 to 3 wt%, and 3% niobium are incorporated into titania to improve the porous surface condition of the ceramic particles. The xerogels were heated at about 500°C. Inorganic membranes were fabricated by using the spin-coating technique using epoxy resin as a binder. The physical, chemical, and electrical properties of these membranes were investigated. The XRD results showed that pure TiO2 and doped TiO2 nanoparticles obtained possess and anatase structure with mesoporosity. The specific surface area of the doped TiO2 was higher than that of pure TiO2 and it is worth pointing out that the doping of antimony affected the surface areas more than the doping of niobium in TiO2. Moreover, these membranes were also tested to evaluate their potential use as an electrolyte in PEMFCs by using impedance spectroscopy, TGA, universal testing machine and water uptake. The results showed that the proton conductivity value of TiO2/epoxy membrane was enhanced by doping niobium and antimony into TiO2 matrix and all of the nano-composite films present good thermal and mechanical properties.