Critical Filler Concentration in Sulfated Titania-Added Nafion™ Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications

Mirko Sgambetterra, Sergio Brutti, Valentina Allodi, Gino Mariotto, Stefania Panero and Maria Assunta Navarra
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Mirko Sgambetterra: Chemistry Department, University of Roma La Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Sergio Brutti: Insitute for Complex Systems, National Research Council (ISC-CNR), via dei Taurini, 00185 Rome, Italy
Valentina Allodi: Informatics Department, University of Verona, Strada le Grazie 15, 37134 Verona, Italy
Gino Mariotto: Informatics Department, University of Verona, Strada le Grazie 15, 37134 Verona, Italy
Stefania Panero: Chemistry Department, University of Roma La Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Maria Assunta Navarra: Chemistry Department, University of Roma La Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: In this communication we present a detailed study of Nafion™ composite membranes containing different amounts of nanosized sulfated titania particles, synthesized through an optimized one-step synthesis procedure. Functional membrane properties, such as ionic exchange capacity and water uptake (WU) ability will be described and discussed, together with thermal analysis, atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy data. Also electrochemical properties such as proton conductivity and performances in hydrogen fuel cells will be presented. It has been demonstrated that a critical concentration of filler particles can boost the fuel cell performance at low humidification, exhibiting a significant improvement of the maximum power and current density delivered under 30% low-relative humidity ( RH ) and 70 °C with respect to bare Nafion™-based systems.

Keywords: functionalized TiO 2 nanoparticles; composite Nafion™ membranes; polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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