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Surfactant-Assisted Perovskite Nanofillers Incorporated in Quaternized Poly (Vinyl Alcohol) Composite Membrane as an Effective Hydroxide-Conducting Electrolyte

Authors :
Selvaraj Rajesh Kumar
Wei-Ting Ma
Hsin-Chun Lu
Li-Wei Teng
Hung-Chun Hsu
Chao-Ming Shih
Chun-Chen Yang
Shingjiang Jessie Lue
Source :
Energies, Vol 10, Iss 5, p 615 (2017)
Publication Year :
2017
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2017.

Abstract

Perovskite LaFeO3 nanofillers (0.1%) are incorporated into a quaternized poly(vinyl alcohol) (QPVA) matrix for use as hydroxide-conducting membranes in direct alkaline methanol fuel cells (DAMFCs). The as-synthesized LaFeO3 nanofillers are amorphous and functionalized with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant. The annealed LaFeO3 nanofillers are crystalline without CTAB. The QPVA/CTAB-coated LaFeO3 composite membrane shows a defect-free structure while the QPVA/annealed LaFeO3 film has voids at the interfaces between the soft polymer and rigid nanofillers. The QPVA/CTAB-coated LaFeO3 composite has lower methanol permeability and higher ionic conductivity than the pure QPVA and QPVA/annealed LaFeO3 films. We suggest that the CTAB-coated LaFeO3 provides three functions to the polymeric composite: increasing polymer free volume, ammonium group contributor, and plasticizer to enhance the interfacial compatibility. The composite containing CTAB-coated LaFeO3 results in superior cell performance. A maximum power density of 272 mW cm−2 is achieved, which is among the highest power outputs reported for DAMFCs in the literature.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
19961073
Volume :
10
Issue :
5
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Energies
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.858adfef24204e0f8b375e9468c8e3a1
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/en10050615