The impact of zirconia nano-rods on the methanol permeability and conductivity of Nafion^®-ZrO₂ nano-composite membrane
by R. Sigwadi; M.S. Dhlamini; T. Mokrani; P. Nonjola; F. Nemavhola
International Journal of Microstructure and Materials Properties (IJMMP), Vol. 13, No. 6, 2018

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to observe the effect of zirconia nanofiller on methanol crossover, mechanical strength and conductivity of modified Nafion^® membranes. The impregnation of zirconia nano-rods within the Nafion^® matrix obtained the improvements on modulus of elastic in both the dry and wet state, with a decrease in the water contact angle, owing to the hydrophilic phase domains in the nano-composite membrane. The proton conductivity of the Nafion^® 117 membrane was 0.113 S/cm lower than 0.139 S/cm of the modified Nafion^®/Zr-50 nano-composite membrane. This may be due to the zirconia nanofiller that retains water within the membrane, which enhances the thermal stability and conductivity of the membrane. In contrast, the electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS) of the modified Nafion^® membrane is higher than that of the Nafion^® 117 membrane. The methanol permeability of nano-composite membranes was lower than that of the Nafion^® 117 membrane at 5 M concentration of the methanol solution.

Online publication date: Sat, 09-Feb-2019

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