Energy material - the role of silicotungstic acid and fly ash in sulfonated poly (ether sulfone) composites for PEMFC applications.

The composite polymer electrolyte membranes were prepared from sulfonated poly (ether sulfone) (SPES), silicotungstic acid (STA) and fly ash (FA). Post sulfonation process was adopted to synthesize SPES using sulphuric and chlorosulfonic acid. The prepared electrolyte membranes were examined by water uptake capacity, swelling ratio, ion-exchange ability, proton conductivity, thermal stability and electrochemical performance for evaluating the pertinence of these membranes in fuel cell applications. As such the pristine membrane restricts with the proton conductivity of 0.042 S cm⁻¹ at 30 °C and 0.060 S cm⁻¹ at 90 °C while the polymer composite membrane, SP-STA-FA-10 reveals the maximum conductivity of 0.054 S cm⁻¹ at 30 °C and 0.073 S cm⁻¹ at 90 °C. It also exhibits good thermal stability than that of the pure membrane. The membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) have been successfully developed from SPES as well as SP-STA-FA-10 membranes and their electrochemical performance were studied the wide range of current density. Herein, the composite membranes derived from SPES, STA and FA can be viable candidates for fuel cell applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]