Nanocomposite membranes based on quaternized polysulfone and functionalized montmorillonite for anion-exchange membranes

In this paper, functionalized montmorillonite is intercalated with cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride and (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane. Quaternized polysulfone/functionalized montmorillonite nanocomposite membranes are fabricated to evaluate their potential in anion-exchange membrane fuel cells. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer and X-ray diffractometer are used to confirm the success of intercalation. The performances of the composite membranes for the anion-exchange membrane fuel cells in terms of their water uptake, mechanical property and ionic conductivity are investigated. Compared with other anion-exchange membranes, the nanocomposite membrane containing 5% montmorillonite modified by cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride exhibits lower water uptake, higher ultimate stress and larger ionic conductivity. It exhibits an ionic conductivity of 4.73 × 10−2 S cm−1 at 95 °C.