Inorganic proton exchange membrane base on mesoporous silica

• Main Author: Lee, Melvin Ding Yuan.
• Other Authors: Chan Siew Hwa
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Alternative, renewable energy sources
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/45936
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Inorganic proton conductors are receiving much attention because of their inherent mechanical and thermal stability. In recent years, proton conducting inorganic materials of high performance have attracted interests of researchers, and many works have been carried out. In this report, a novel proton conductor using phosphortungstic acid (HPW) as proton donator and 3D mesoporous silica (Im3m) as framework material was prepared as proton exchange membrane and studied for the application in high temperature fuel cells. The highly ordered mesoporous silica was synthesized through a hydrothermal method and then HPW was introduced into the nanochannels of meso-silica matrix by a vacuum impregnation method. The synthesized membranes were characterized by SAXS, BET, TEM, FTIR, Raman scattering, and TGA techniques. The effects of HPW incorporation on membrane properties, including morphology and electrolyte conductivity were extensively investigated.