new proton-exchange membrane (pem) based on the modification of sulfonated polystyrene with mil-53(al)-nh2 for direct-methanol fuel cell

In this study, modified sulfonated polystyrene (sps) was used as a base for membrane fabrication in direct methanol fuel cells (dmfcs). the sulfonated polystyrene (sps) was prepared using ethylsulfate and polystyrene with sulfate attached to the para-position of some phenyl groups in polystyrene backbone and conducted by polyethylene (pe) and different amounts of mil-53(al)-nh2 as metal-organic material, to obtain sps-pe-mil-53 as a novel proton-exchange membrane. the membranes were characterized using ft-ir spectroscopy, sem, and tga analysis. the proton conductivity, water uptake, oxidative resistance, ionic conductivity, and methanol permeability of the membranes were examined to assess their performance in a direct methanol fuel cell. the modified membrane containing 1% wt sps, 1% wt pe, and 0.25% wt mil-53 showed relatively better performance than the other prepared membranes with the selectivity factor of 7.17 × 10^4 s.s/cm3 and a maximum peak power density of 17.04 mw/cm2 with a maximum current density of 115.38 ma/cm2.