New highly proton-conducting membrane poly(vinylpyrrolidone)(PVP) modified poly(vinyl alcohol)/2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (PVA-PAMPS) for low temperature direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs)

A new type of chemically cross-linked polymer blend membranes consisting of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-l-propanesulfonic acid (PAMPS) and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) have been prepared and evaluated as proton conducting polymer electrolytes. The proton conductivity (a) of the membranes was investigated as a function of cross-linking time, blending composition, water content and ion exchange capacity (IEC). Membranes were also characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Membrane swelling decreased with cross-linking time, accompanied by an improvement in mechanical properties and a small decrease in proton conductivity due to the reduced water absorption. The membranes attained 0.088 S cm(-1) of the proton conductivity and 1.63 mequiv g(-1) of IEC at 25 +/- 2 degrees C for a polymer composition PVA-PAMPS-PVP being 1: 1:0.5 in mass, and a methanol permeability of 6.1 X 10(-7) cm(2) s(-1), which showed a comparable proton conductivity to Nation 117, but only one third of Nafion 117 methanol permeability under the same measuring conditions. The membranes displayed a relatively high oxidative durability without weight loss of the membranes (e.g. 100 h in 3% H2O2 solution and 20 h in 10% H2O2 solution at 60 degrees C). PVP, as a modifier, was found to play a crucial role in improving the above membrane performances. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.