Experimental study demonstrates high proton conductivity in electrospun sulfonated polyphenyl sulfone membranes, indicating a cost-effective alternative for flow batteries.
Key Points
To synthesize and evaluate a durable, cost-effective electrospun sulfonated polyphenyl sulfone membrane as an alternative to commercial Nafion in vanadium redox flow batteries and fuel cells.
Chemically sulfonated polyphenyl sulfone (PPSU) polymer to produce sulfonated PPSU (sPPSU).
Fabricated fibrous proton exchange membranes from the synthesized sPPSU using electrospinning.
Characterized the electrochemical and physical properties, including ion exchange capacity and proton conductivity.
The electrospun sPPSU membranes demonstrated an ion exchange capacity of 2.1 meq g−1.
The membranes achieved a proton conductivity of 1.68 × 10−2 S cm−1, offering a resilient and economical alternative to standard commercial membranes.