Polybenzimidazole (PBI) activated with H3PO4 is one of the membranes of choice to replace Nafion® in PEMFCs in order to allow their use above 100 °C. The limits of PBI in terms of acid leaching and low conductivity below 160 °C can be overcome by a proper monomer tailoring, and by the addition of new fillers. Here, we report on new pyridine-based PBI membranes with: (i) imidazole-silica (SiO2-Im) and (ii) mesostructured silica (SBA-15) fillers. Both the thermal stability and the permanent conductivity are improved by adding 5 wt.-% of filler, but SiO 2-Im gives the best results. Permanent conductivity values higher than 10-3 S cm-1 are obtained at 120 °C and 50% R.H. Vibrational spectroscopies (FT-IR and Raman) are used to investigate the relationships among the polymer, the filler and the activating H 3PO4 acid
Quartarone, E., Magistris, A., Mustarelli, P., Grandi, S., Carollo, A., Zukowska, G., et al. (2009). Pyridine-based PBI composite membranes for PEMFCs. FUEL CELLS, 9(4), 349-355 [10.1002/fuce.200800149].
Pyridine-based PBI composite membranes for PEMFCs
Mustarelli, P
;
2009
Abstract
Polybenzimidazole (PBI) activated with H3PO4 is one of the membranes of choice to replace Nafion® in PEMFCs in order to allow their use above 100 °C. The limits of PBI in terms of acid leaching and low conductivity below 160 °C can be overcome by a proper monomer tailoring, and by the addition of new fillers. Here, we report on new pyridine-based PBI membranes with: (i) imidazole-silica (SiO2-Im) and (ii) mesostructured silica (SBA-15) fillers. Both the thermal stability and the permanent conductivity are improved by adding 5 wt.-% of filler, but SiO 2-Im gives the best results. Permanent conductivity values higher than 10-3 S cm-1 are obtained at 120 °C and 50% R.H. Vibrational spectroscopies (FT-IR and Raman) are used to investigate the relationships among the polymer, the filler and the activating H 3PO4 acid
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