effect of relative humidity on mechanical strength of zirconia/ nafion^® nanocomposite membrane

This paper presents the results of mechanical strength of wet and dry zirconia/ nafion^® nanocomposite membrane. the tensile tests were conducted to determine elastic modulus and stiffness of dry and wet pristine nafion^® membrane and modified nafion^® membrane. the composite membranes were prepared by recast method of different synthesized zirconium oxide with the zirconia content of 10% by weight. the uniaxial mechanical properties of nanocomposite membranes and recast nafion^® membrane were captured using a cellscale ustretch uniaxial testing system. the length, width, and thickness of samples were measured using a vernier caliper and recorded prior to testing. it was found that elastic modulus of the wet nafion recast is 62.06 %, 35.26 %, 30.79 % and 35.26 % higher than that of nafion^®/ zr100, nafion/^® zr80, nafion^®/zr50, and nafion^®/zr0, respectively. the elastic modulus of dry nafion recast, nafion^®/zr100, nafion^®/zr80, nafion^®/zr50, and nafion/zr0 membranes are 46.29 %, 83.31 %, 64.81 %, 59.84 %, and 78.36 % higher than those of wet nafion^® recast, nafion^®/zr100, nafion^®/zr80, nafion^®/zr50, and nafion^®/zr0 membranes, respectively. furthermore, the results showed that when the water content increases in the nanocomposite membranes the mechanical strength also decreases.