Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4988910 | Journal of Membrane Science | 2017 | 31 Pages |
Abstract
Proton-exchange membranes based on phosphoric acid-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) were fabricated and characterized for air-breathing microbial fuel cell (MFC) applications. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation approaches were also employed to get an in-depth understanding of structure-property relationship of MFC membranes. Addition of 500Â mol% phosphoric acid to PBI membrane enhanced its water uptake in comparison with neat PBI due to strong phosphoric acid-water interactions as revealed by MD simulations. Acid-doped PBI membranes resulted in reduced oxygen permeability (0.36 barrers) relative to Nafion (1.78 barrers). Moreover, MFC membranes based on acid-doped PBI produced higher open-circuit voltage and maximum power density of 471Â mV and 74.2Â mWÂ cmâ2, respectively, as compared to corresponding open circuit voltage of 396Â mV and maximum power density of 48.6Â mWÂ cmâ2 for Nafion membranes. Superior electrochemical properties of acid-doped PBI over Nafion were ascribed to MD predicted considerably lower diffusion coefficients of ions and oxygen molecule in acid-doped PBI than in Nafion. Owing to the attained desirable characteristics, fabricated phosphoric-acid doped PBI membranes could act as promising candidate membranes for MFC usages.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Filtration and Separation
Authors
Ghasem Bahlakeh, Mohammad Mahdi Hasani-Sadrabadi, Shahriar Hojjati Emami, Seyed Nasireddin Saeedi Eslami, Erfan Dashtimoghadam, Mohammad Ali Shokrgozar, Karl I. Jacob,