fabrication and characterization of a conductive proton exchange membrane based on sulfonated polystyrenedivinylbenzene resinpolyethylene (spsdrpe): application in direct methanol fuel cells

A novel proton exchange membrane has been prepared using sulfonated poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) resin(spsdr)–polyethylene(pe). the membrane is characterized by ft-ir, sem and tga/dsc. water uptake, oxidative resistance, ionic conductivity and methanol permeability are measured to evaluate its performance in a direct methanol fuel cell. the on-set degradation temperature of the spsdr is above 120°c. the membranes were confirmed to retain 1–5% water vapor at 80–140 °c in the air due to the hydrophily of highly sulfonated polystyrene. the ionic conductivity and permeability of the membrane to methanol was found to increase with temperature without extra humidity supply. a direct methanol fuel cell was designed and assembled with the suggested spsdr-pe membrane. the effect of some experimental factors such as temperature, methanol concentration, and flow rate as well as naoh concentration on the electrical performances of fuel cells was studied and optimized.