Enhancing Proton Conductivity of SPEEK Based Membranes by Incorporation of Graphene Oxide / Bisphosphonic acid dopant

Abstract

The most commercially successful membrane for applications in fuel cell and electrolyzers, perfluorinated sulfonic NafionR, exhibits relevant performance limitations due to its dependence on water content with consequent proton mobility restrictions, environmental concerns and very high cost. Poly(etheretherketone) (SPEEK) polymer appears as a versatile non-fluorinated alternative for a low-cost and a more environmentally friendly membrane. Our previous studies showed that the incorporation of biphosphonic acid dopants (BPs) into the mentioned polymeric matrices, improves membrane proton conduction and durability1-5. In this work, we prepared and evaluated new doped SPEEK membranes using graphene oxide (GO) with bisphosphonic acid functionalities as dopant (GOBP), anticipating superior membranes properties, including proton conductivity.