Biopolymer-based electrolyte membranes from chitosan incorporated with montmorillonite-crosslinked GPTMS for direct methanol fuel cells

• Main Authors: Purwanto, M., Atmaja, L., Mohamed, M. A., Salleh, M. T., Jaafar, J., Ismail, A. F., Santoso, M., Widiastuti, N.
• Format: Article
• Published: Royal Society of Chemistry 2016
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/74378/; https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84954089045&doi=10.1039%2fc5ra22420a&partnerID=40&md5=1bfa5671d7813b27272dfaa15493a8d1

A composite membrane was fabricated from biopolymer chitosan and montmorillonite (MMT) filler as an alternative membrane electrolyte for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) application. To first improve the organic-inorganic interfacial morphology, the pristine MMT was pre-treated using 3-glicidoxy propyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) surface modifier to produce organophilic MMT (O-MMT). The GPTMS modified MMT was mixed with chitosan in acetic acid solution and cast into membranes. SEM images and FTIR analysis showed that the O-MMT was successfully incorporated into the chitosan polymer matrix. Water and methanol uptake of the Ch/O-MMT composite membranes decreased with increasing O-MMT loadings, but the ion exchange capacity (IEC) value increased. The Ch/O-MMT with 5 wt% O-MMT loading exhibited the best methanol permeability and proton conductivity characteristics among the other Ch/O-MMT membranes, which were 3.03 × 10-7 cm2 s-1 and 4.66 mS cm-1, respectively. All the results obtained from this study can be used to conclude that the chitosan membrane with O-MMT filler is a promising high performance PEM candidate for DMFC application.