Nafion/Zeolite Nanocomposite Membrane by in Situ Crystallization for a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

作者：Zhongwei Chen, Brett A. Holmberg, Wenzhen Li, Xin Wang, Wei Deng, Ronnie Munoz, Yushan Yan · 发表于：Chemistry of Materials · 年份：2006 · DOI：10.1021/cm060841q · 被引用次数：286 · 研究领域：Fuel Cells and Related Materials、Membrane-based Ion Separation Techniques、Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion

A method for preparing Nafion/acid functionalized zeolite Beta (NAFB) nanocomposite membranes by in situ hydrothermal crystallization is described. The nanocomposite membranes have a slightly lower proton conductivity but a markedly lower methanol permeability (ca. 40% reduction). When tested with 1 M methanol feed, the direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) with the NAFB composite membranes have a slightly higher open circuit voltage (OCV; 3%) and much higher maximum power density (21%) than those with the pure Nafion 115 membranes. With a higher methanol concentration (5 M), the DMFCs with the NAFB composite membranes demonstrate a 14% higher OCV and a 93% higher maximum power density than those with the pure Nafion 115 membranes. Compared with the commercial Nafion 115 membranes, the NAFB composite membranes have slightly lower tensile strength but higher elastic modulus.