Preparation and physical properties of (PVA)0.7(NaBr)0.3(H3PO4)xM solid acid membrane for phosphoric acid – Fuel cells

A solid acid membranes based on poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), sodium bromide (NaBr) and phosphoric acid (H3PO4) were prepared by a solution casting method. The morphological, IR, electrical and optical properties of the (PVA)0.7(NaBr)0.3(H3PO4)xM solid acid membranes where x = 0.00, 0.85, 1.7, 3.4, 5.1 M were investigated. The variation of film morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies. FTIR spectroscopy has been used to characterize the structure of polymer and confirms the complexation of phosphoric acid with host polymeric matrix. The temperature dependent nature of ionic conductivity and the impedance of the polymer electrolytes were determined along with the associated activation energy. The ionic conductivity at room temperature was found to be strongly depends on the H3PO4 concentration which it has been achieved to be of the order 4.3 × 10−3 S/cm at ambient temperature. Optical measurements showed a decrease in optical band gap and an increase in band tail width with the increase of phosphoric acid. The data shows that the (PVA)0.7(NaBr)0.3(H3PO4)xM solid acid membrane is promising for intermediate temperature phosphoric acid fuel cell applications.