Loh Kee Shyuan

Review on Biopolymer Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications

Tremendous efforts are being made to produce polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) for fuel cell using advanced materials in order to replace Nafion due to the high costs and its complicated synthesis procedures. One of the efforts include an extensive research on natural polymer to produce biopolymer based electrolyte membranes with desirable properties such as high proton conductivity, as well as good chemical and thermal stabilities. The examples of biopolymer that have been used are polysaccharide (e.g. cellulose, starch and glycogen), chitin and chitosan. This paper presents an overview of the types of biopolymer used to produce a PEM, comprised also their chemical and physical properties, and its performances in fuel cell applications.

Direct synthesis of nitrogen-containing carbon nanotubes on carbon paper for fuel cell electrode

Organic catalyst has recently been identified as the potential substitution for expensive platinum electrocatalyst for fuel cell application. Numerous studies have shown that the nitrogen-containing carbon nanotubes (N-CNT) can be synthesized through spray pyrolysis or floating chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique using various type of organometallic as precursors. This paper presents the method of synthesis and the initial findings of the growth of N-CNT directly on carbon paper using a modified CVD technique. In this research, nickel (II) phthalocyanines (Ni-Pc) as precursor was dissolved in ethanol solvent, stirred and sonicated to become homogenized. The solution was poured into a bubbler and heated up to allow the mixture to vaporize. Subsequently, the solution vapor was flowed into the tubical reactor maintained at 900°C. Carbon paper sputtered with nickel nanoparticles was used as the substrate. The synthesized sample was examined through Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), At...

Synthesis and Characterization of Sulfonated Polybenzimidazole (SPBI) Copolymer for Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

A diverse sulfonated polybenzimidazole copolymer (SPBI) as proton exchange membrane was synthesiszed via one-step high temperature polymerization method with 3,3-diaminobenzidine (DABD), 5-sulfoisophthalic acid (SIPA), 4,4-sulfonyldibenzoic acid (SDBA) and biphenyl-4,4-dicarboxylic acid (BDCA). The SPBI membrane was prepared through a direct hot-casting and in situ phase inversion technique. Characterization tests were carried out on the membranes including surface morphology, distribution of elements on the membrane, determination of functional groups, thermal stability, ion exchange capacity, water uptake rate and proton conductivity. The as-synthesized SPBI membrane displayed a smooth surface via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis which is thermally stable up to 443 °C. The SPBI membrane showed higher water uptake rate (WUR) and proton conductivity though it had lower ion exchange capacity (IEC) value compared to recast Nafion membrane. The proton conductivity of the SPBI membrane with IEC of 0.60 mmol/g was 4.50 × 10-2 S/cm at 90 °C. This study shows that the SPBI membrane has great potential in polymer exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) applications.

Synthesis of palladium-doped silica nanofibers by sol-gel reaction and electrospinning process

Nanofiber is drawing great attention nowadays with their high surface area per volume and flexibility in surface functionalities that make them favorable as a proton exchange membrane in fuel cell application. In this study, incorporation of palladium nanoparticles in silica nanofibers was prepared by combination of a tetraorthosilane (TEOS) sol-gel reaction with electrospinning process. This method can prevent the nanoparticles from aggregation by direct mixing of palladium nanoparticles in silica sol. The as-produced electrospun fibers were thermally treated to remove poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) and condensation of silanol in silica framework. PVP is chosen as fiber shaping agent because of its insulting and capping properties for various metal nanoparticles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the silica fibers and Pd nanoparticles on the fibers. Spun fibers with average diameter ranged from 100nm to 400nm were obtained at optimum operating condition and distribution of Pd nanoparticles on silica fibers was investigated.

CsH2PO4: Electrolyte for Intermediate Temperature Fuel Cells

This review paper discusses the temperature behavior and thermal event of cesium dihydrogen phosphate (CsH2PO4) in both ambient and high pressure atmosphere. A complete transition from the room-temperature to a high-temperature of CsH2PO4 (monoclinic to cubic phase) occurs between 230 to 240 °C, even in the absence of humid conditions and the superprotonic transition precedes the onset of the dehydration/chemical decomposition of the title compound. Decomposition or dehydration can be avoided by either keeping the sample under a H2O-saturated atmosphere, or subjecting the sample to a pressure of 1.0 ± 0.2 GPa.

Preparation and characterization of nafion-zirconia composite membrane for PEMFC

Polymer electrolyte membrane based on Nafion and zirconium oxide (ZrO2) was developed via film casting method. The content of ZrO2 (1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 wt.%) was incorporated with Nafion solution to prepare Nafion-ZrO2 composite membranes. Recast Nafion membrane was used as reference material. All of the prepared membranes have been subjected to both physical and chemical characterizations such as Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, water uptake rate (WUR) and conductivity measurements. The Nafion-ZrO2 composite membranes were found to possess high thermal stability (Tg= 188 - 192°C) and conductivity (0.30 – 0.93 S cm-1). This study demonstrates the possibility of developing Nafion-ZrO2 composite membrane as promising polymer electrolyte membrane for fuel cell operated at medium temperature and low humidity.

Density-Functional Theory of O2 Physical Adsorption on sp3 and sp2 Hybridized Nitrogen-Doped CNT Surfaces for Fuel Cell Electrode

Catalysis is the major process involved in fuel cell technology to generate electricity which is known renewable. Generally, fuel cell electrodes utilize platinum supported carbon to catalyze the reactions at both cathode and anode. However, cheaper substitution materials such as nitrogen-doped carbon catalyst have attracted greater attention in recent year due to its significant catalytic activity at cathode in fuel cell. Nitrogen-doped CNT (N-CNT) is believed to allow oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at cathode to take place which play a role as n-type dopant for electrical conductivity. The objective of this paper is to understand the mechanism of oxygen adsorption on N-CNT using the density-functional theory (DFT). N-CNT with two configurations involve sp2 and sp3 hybridized nitrogen are studied and compared in order to find the most thermodynamically stable N-CNT for sustainable ORR activity in fuel cell. The structural stability is studied through the binding energies of each configurations and the metallic behavior is examined through the energy gaps from the HOMO-LUMO studies. Finally, the adsorption energies and deformation energies of oxygen on N-CNT is discussed. Results revealed that sp3 hybridized N-CNT gives the most stable structure with compatible oxygen adsorption ability.

Temperature Effects on Stainless Steel 316L Corrosion in the Environment of Sulphuric Acid (H2SO4)

In its application, metal is always in contact with its environment whether air, vapor, water, and other chemicals. During contact, chemical interactions emerge between metals and their respective environments such that the metal surface corrodes. This study aims to determine the corrosion rate of 316L stainless steel sulphuric acid environment (H2SO4) with weight loss and electrochemical methods. The corrosion rate (CR) is value of 316L stainless steel by weight loss method with sulfuric acid (H2SO4) with concentration of 0.5 M. The result obtained in conjunction with the increase of temperature the rate of erosion obtained appears to be larger, with a consecutive 3 hour the temperature of 50°C is 0.27 mg/cm2h, temperature 70°C 0.38 mg/cm2h, and temperature 90 °C 0.52 mg/cm2h. With the electrochemical method, the current value increases by using a C350 potentiostal tool. The higher the current, the longer the time the corrosion rate increases, where the current is at 90 °C with a 10-minute treatment time of 0.0014736 A. The 316L stainless steel in surface metal morphology is shown by using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM).