Preparation and characterization of poly (vinyl alcohol)/Carboxymethyl Cellulose/ Acrylamide - based membranes for DMFC applications

Blending polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) -Carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) - Acrylamide (AA) membranes are prepared and crosslinked using succinic acid and investigated as a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The membranes were prepared through the solution casting technique. The effect of different blend addition on physicochemical properties was studied. Scanning electron microscopy ( SEM) was used to study the morphological structure, which indicated that no phase separation or cracks and good component compatibility. Chemical interaction between PVA, CMC, and AA was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) in which the four characteristic absorption bands at 572, 1414, 3302 and 3411 cm(-1) which confirm the presence of -NCO-, -COO-, -OH and -NH2, respectively. Furthermore, the membrane mechanical strength, water uptake, gel fraction, and ion exchange capacity (IEC) were evaluated as functions of assorted membrane components. The results revealed that the addition of CMC and AA improves mechanical strength, IEC and protonic conductivity that reached 23.41 MPa, 0.11 mmol/g and 1x10(-3) S/cm, respectively. These findings increase the viability of PVA/CMC/AA polyelectrolytic membranes for PEMFC application.