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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Performance of H2-fed fuel cell with chitosan/silicotungstic acid membrane as proton conductor
Francesco Di FrancoAndrea ZafforaMonica SantamariaGiuseppe Burgiosubject
Materials scienceGeneral Chemical Engineering202 engineering and technologySilicotungstic acidSilicotungstic acid010402 general chemistryElectrochemistry01 natural sciencesChitosanchemistry.chemical_compoundKeggin structureCrystallinityHMaterials ChemistryElectrochemistryProton conductorChitosan021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology–O0104 chemical sciencesComposite membraneMembraneSettore ING-IND/23 - Chimica Fisica ApplicataChemical engineeringchemistryHydrogen fuelPEMFC0210 nano-technologydescription
Composite organic–inorganic proton exchange membranes for H2–O2 fuel cells were fabricated by ionotropic gelation process combining a biopolymer (chitosan) with a heteropolyacid (silicotungstic acid). According to scanning electron microscopy analysis, compact, homogeneous and free-standing thin layers were synthesized. X-ray diffraction proved the crystallinity of the fabricated membranes and showed the presence of Chitosan Form I polymorph soon after the reticulation step and of the Form II polymorph after the functionalization step. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy demonstrated that the Keggin structure of the heteropolyacid is maintained inside the membrane even after the fabrication process. These membranes worked properly as proton conductors in a low-temperature (25 °C) fuel cell apparatus using hydrogen as fuel recording a promising power density peak of 268 mW cm−2 with a Pt loading of 0.5 mg cm−2.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-01-21 |