Preparation of new proton exchange nanocomposite membrane based on PVDF-g-PAMPS/PAN-co-PAMPS/silica

A well-defined amphiphilic graft copolymer (PVDF-g-PAMPS) was synthesized by grafting through RAFT polymerization. The synthesized PVDF graft copolymer was blended with PAN-co-PAMPS copolymer and sulfonic acid functionalized silica nanoparticles to prepare a new nanocomposite proton exchange membrane. Then, nanocomposite membranes based on the PVDF-g-PAMPS/PAN-co-PAMPS/silica nanoparticle were prepared via solvent casting method in the presence of various amounts (0-10 wt%) of sulfonic acid functionalized silica nanoparticles. Nanocomposite membranes were then characterized by FTIR, impedance spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The influences of PAN-co-PAMPS copolymer and sulfonic acid functionalized silica nanoparticles on the morphology and the transport properties of the membranes were investigated. The maximum proton conductivity was 20 mS/cm at 25 °C for the nanocomposite membrane containing 10% silica nanoparticles. The thermal properties of these nanocomposite membranes were also studied