Self-Humidifying and Super-Protonic Conductivity of SPEEK-Based Composite Proton Exchange Membranes Incorporated by Functionalized MXene and Modified TiO2 Nanofillers
Novel composite membranes enhance proton conductivity and water retention in proton exchange membranes, suggesting improved performance for fuel cells.
Key Points
The aim is to enhance the performance of proton exchange membranes by incorporating functionalized MXene and modified TiO2 as nanofillers into SPEEK-based composites.
Developed composite membranes using sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) with TiO2 and MXene.
Evaluated the impact of varying nanofiller content on water uptake and proton conductivity.
Conducted experiments at different temperatures to assess self-humidifying properties.
Achieved proton conductivity of 0.143 S/cm at optimal nanofiller content (5 wt.%).
Increased water uptake by 38% compared to primary SPEEK PEM.
Reduced methanol permeability by 47% from the initial PEM values.