0000000000958863
AUTHOR
S.c. Sánchez-ballester
Synthesis and characterization of bisulfonated poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide composite membranes with improved proton exchange capabilities
Abstract Composite membranes based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and graphene oxide (GO) were prepared by solution-casting method to be used as proton exchange membranes (PEMs) in fuel cell (FC) applications. Bisulfonation was employed as a strategy to enhance the proton conductivity of these membranes. First, a direct sulfonation of the polymer matrix was accomplished by intra-sulfonation of the polymer matrix with propane sultone, followed by the inter-sulfonation of the polymer chains using sulfosuccinic acid (SSA) as a crosslinking agent. Furthermore, the addition of graphene oxide (GO) as inorganic filler was also evaluated to enhance the proton-conducting of the composite membranes. Th…
Protection of high-density polyethylene-silicon composites from ultraviolet-visible photodegradation
[EN] The extent of the ultraviolet¿visible (UV¿vis) photoirradiation effect on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and HDPE¿sili-con (Si) composites is reported in terms of the addition of Si microparticles at contents of 0.1, 1, and 5 wt %. A standard acceleratedUV-vis exposure was applied over 2750 h, corresponding to 22 months in Florida. Thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry,and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used as reliable techniques for monitoring the quality of the HDPE-Si composites. Theincreasing addition of Si microparticles delayed the photodegradation of the HDPE¿Si composites. Because of their strong light-scattering effects, Si microparticles blocked…