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.