Sulfonated bisphenol-A-polysulfone based composite PEMs containing tungstophosphoric acid and modified by electron beam irradiation

Composite sulfonated bisphenol-A-polysulfone (SPSF) based PEMs, containing tungstophosphoric acid (TPA) and modified by electron beam (EB) irradiation with doses of 50 and 100 kGy, were prepared and characterized by a number of physico-chemical methods. The probability of the cross-linking was increased by post treatment of the irradiated membranes at 180 °C for 8 h into a vacuum oven. The cross-linking strongly affected membrane properties, reducing their swelling, but at the same time decreasing their proton conductivity. The proton conductivity of the membranes was measured by a two electrode ac impedance technique using a frequency response analyzer. The PEMs performance was tested in H2/O2 fuel cell (FC) and found to approach that of Nafion® 117 commercial PEM at the same conditions. The PEMs composite stability was adequate at least for 2 days, during which no degradation of the performance was observed.