TITLE:
Characterization of Low Cost Ion Conducting Poly(AAc-co-DMAPMA) Membrane for Fuel Cell Application
AUTHORS:
Anup Das, Suddhasatwa Basu, Anil Verma, Keith Scott
KEYWORDS:
Fuel Cells, Hydrogel Membrane, Ionic Conductivity, PEM
JOURNAL NAME:
Materials Sciences and Applications,
Vol.6 No.3,
March
10,
2015
ABSTRACT: Poly(AAc-co-DMAPMA) membrane (PADMA) is synthesized by free radical aqueous copolymerization
of acrylic acid (AAc) and N-3-[dimethylamino)propyl]-methacrylamide (DMAPMA) to check
its stability and conductivity. The hydrogel membrane characterized physically to study morphology
by SEM, thermal stability by TGA and mechanical stability by measuring compressive
strength and ionic conductivity by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in alkaline as well as
in acidic environment at different temperatures. The compression modulus of the hydrogel membrane
is 24 kPa at pH = 1.0 and 16 kPa at pH = 7.0, and stable (no fracture) till 72% deformation.
The PADMA hydrogel membrane ionic conductivity increased with the increase in temperature
and structurally stable up to 190°C. Improvement in ionic conductivity is observed after the heat
treatment of the membrane. Compared with ionic conductivity of Nafion? (SE512), the PADMA
membrane found to be inferior. However, the PADMA hydrogel membrane conductivity was greater
(~1 × 10-4S/cm) at low and high pH compared with neutral pH (~1 × 10-5S/cm) indicating the
possibility of using the membrane as either a proton and hydroxyl ion conductor.