Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs): Advances and Challenges
The study of the electrochemical catalyst conversion of renewable electricity and carbon oxides into chemical fuels attracts a great deal of attention by different researchers. The main role of this process is in mitigating the worldwide energy crisis through a closed technological carbon cycle, where chemical fuels, such as hydrogen, are stored and reconverted to electricity via electrochemical reaction processes in fuel cells. The scientific community focuses its efforts on the development of high-performance polymeric membranes together with nanomaterials with high catalytic activity and stability in order to reduce the platinum group metal applied as a cathode to build stacks of proton …
Proton Conducting Electrospun Sulfonated Polyether Ether Ketone-Graphene Oxide Composite Membranes
[EN] A series of novel composite membranes, based on sulfonated poly(ether ketone) (SPEEK) with a graphene oxide (GO) layer, were prepared. One contained a GO layer sandwiched between the SPEEK-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix (SPEEK/PVA@GO), and another deposited thin layers of GO on the nanofibers of SPEEK-polyvinyl butyral (PVB), with both sandwiched in the phase matrix of SPEEK-PVA (SPEEK/PVA@GO-NF). Various nanofiber thicknesses were studied by varying the electrospinning time. The prepared composite membranes with different nanofiber thicknesses were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, water uptake, ionic exchange capacity, thermogravimetric analysis, mechanical properties an…