Imidazolium-Quaternized Poly(2,6-Dimethyl-1,4-Phenylene Oxide)/Zeolitic Imidazole Framework-8 Composite Membrane as Polymer Electrolyte for Fuel-Cell Application

Abstract

Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) are considered superior to their counterpart proton exchange fuel cells due to their many advantages. Both fuel cells use membranes as polymer electrolytes to improve fuel-cell properties and power output. This work evaluates a series of imidazolium-quaternized poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (ImPPO) functionalized zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) (ImPPO/ZIF-8) as anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolytes in a direct methanol alkaline fuel cell. FTIR and 1H NMR were used to confirm the successful membrane fabrication. SEM and TGA were used to study the morphological and thermal stability properties of the ImPPO/ZIF-8 membranes. The AEMs obtained in this work had contact angles ranging from 55.27–106.73°, water uptake from 9–83%, ion exchange capacity (IEC) from 1.93–3.15 mmol/g, and ion conductivity (IC) from 1.02–2.43 mS/cm. The best-performing membrane, ImPPO/3%ZIF-8, showed a water uptake of up to 35% at 80 °C, a swelling ratio of 15.1% after 72 h, IEC of 4.06 mmol/g, and IC of 1.96 mS/cm. A power density of 158.10 mW/cm2 was obtained. This makes ZIF-8 a good prospect as a filler for enhancing membrane properties.