Cellulose nanocrystal-based composite electrolyte with superior dimensional stability for alkaline fuel cell membranes
Abstract
Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)-based composite films were prepared as a solid electrolyte for alkaline fuel cells. Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and silica gel hybrid was used to bind the CNCs to form a robust composite film. The mass ratio (i.e., 1 : 1, 1 : 2) of PVA and silica gel was tuned to control the hydrophobicity of the resulting films. Composite films with a range of CNC content (i.e., 20 to 60%) were prepared to demonstrate the impact of CNC on the performance of these materials as a solid electrolyte for alkaline fuel cells. Different from previously reported cross-linked polymer films, CNC-based composite films with 40% hydrophobic binder (i.e., PVA : silica gel=1 : 2) exhibited simultaneous low water swelling (e.g., ~5%) and high water uptake (e.g., ~80%) due to the hydrophilicity and extraordinary dimensional stability of CNC. It also showed a conductivity of 0.044 and 0.065 S/cm at 20 and 60 oC, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, the film with 60% CNC and 40% binder is characterized by the lowest hydroxide conductivity-normalized swelling ratio. Decreased CNC content (i.e., 40 and 20%) resulted in comparable hydroxide conductivity but a greater swelling ratio. Finally, these results demonstrate the advantagemore »
- Authors:
-
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Materials Science & Technology Division
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1215579
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Materials Chemistry. A
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 3; Journal Issue: 25; Journal ID: ISSN 2050-7488
- Publisher:
- Royal Society of Chemistry
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
Citation Formats
Lu, Yuan, Artmentrout, Aaron A., Li, Juchuan, Tekinalp, Halil L., Nanda, Jagjit, and Ozcan, Soydan. Cellulose nanocrystal-based composite electrolyte with superior dimensional stability for alkaline fuel cell membranes. United States: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1039/C5TA02304A.
Lu, Yuan, Artmentrout, Aaron A., Li, Juchuan, Tekinalp, Halil L., Nanda, Jagjit, & Ozcan, Soydan. Cellulose nanocrystal-based composite electrolyte with superior dimensional stability for alkaline fuel cell membranes. United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5TA02304A
Lu, Yuan, Artmentrout, Aaron A., Li, Juchuan, Tekinalp, Halil L., Nanda, Jagjit, and Ozcan, Soydan. Wed .
"Cellulose nanocrystal-based composite electrolyte with superior dimensional stability for alkaline fuel cell membranes". United States. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5TA02304A. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1215579.
@article{osti_1215579,
title = {Cellulose nanocrystal-based composite electrolyte with superior dimensional stability for alkaline fuel cell membranes},
author = {Lu, Yuan and Artmentrout, Aaron A. and Li, Juchuan and Tekinalp, Halil L. and Nanda, Jagjit and Ozcan, Soydan},
abstractNote = {Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)-based composite films were prepared as a solid electrolyte for alkaline fuel cells. Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and silica gel hybrid was used to bind the CNCs to form a robust composite film. The mass ratio (i.e., 1 : 1, 1 : 2) of PVA and silica gel was tuned to control the hydrophobicity of the resulting films. Composite films with a range of CNC content (i.e., 20 to 60%) were prepared to demonstrate the impact of CNC on the performance of these materials as a solid electrolyte for alkaline fuel cells. Different from previously reported cross-linked polymer films, CNC-based composite films with 40% hydrophobic binder (i.e., PVA : silica gel=1 : 2) exhibited simultaneous low water swelling (e.g., ~5%) and high water uptake (e.g., ~80%) due to the hydrophilicity and extraordinary dimensional stability of CNC. It also showed a conductivity of 0.044 and 0.065 S/cm at 20 and 60 oC, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, the film with 60% CNC and 40% binder is characterized by the lowest hydroxide conductivity-normalized swelling ratio. Decreased CNC content (i.e., 40 and 20%) resulted in comparable hydroxide conductivity but a greater swelling ratio. Finally, these results demonstrate the advantage of CNC as a key component for a solid electrolyte for alkaline fuel cells over conventional polymers, suggesting the great potential of CNCs in improving the dimensional stability while maintaining the conductivity of existing anion exchange membranes.},
doi = {10.1039/C5TA02304A},
journal = {Journal of Materials Chemistry. A},
number = 25,
volume = 3,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed May 13 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Wed May 13 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}
Web of Science
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