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Synthesis and characterization of cellulose acetate based proton exchange membranes
Author : Kosuri Praveena a, Sandeep Dharmadhikari *b, Ghoshna Jyoti b and Manivannan Ramachandran a
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ABSTRACT
The proton exchange membranes (PEMs) were prepared using cellulose acetate (CA), orthophosphoric acid (OPA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and epichlorohydrin (ECH) as an active agent. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used as polymeric backbone for the synthesized PEMs. CA was used as a hydrophilic agent and OPA provided acidic matrix for the membranes. Polymeric membranes have minimal environmental effects and hence we focused on these membranes for fuel cell applications. These membranes were prepared by physical blending and casting methods. The cellulose acetate was dissolved in the required amount of pure acetone to form a solution and subsequently activated using ECH at 45ºC for 6 h. Activated cellulose acetate and OPA was used in molar ratios of 1:1 and 1:2 in this study. PVA was added in the desired quantity. The approach allowed the membrane to have an excellent ion exchange capacity (IEC) and water uptake (WU) such as 1.14 meq/g and 11.83%, respectively.
KEYWORD
Proton exchange membrane, ion exchange capacity, swelling ratio, water uptake