Synergistic Strengthening in Graphene Oxide and Oxidized Single-walled Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Material for use as Electrolytes in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Mohammad Atiqur Rahman; Nurun Nahar Rabin; Saidul Islam; Mashahiro Fukuda; Juny Yagyu; Zhiqing Feng; Yoshihiro Sekine; Leonard F Lindoy; Junya Ohyama; Shinya Hayami

doi:10.1002/asia.202200376

Synergistic Strengthening in Graphene Oxide and Oxidized Single-walled Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Material for use as Electrolytes in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Chem Asian J. 2022 Jul 15;17(14):e202200376. doi: 10.1002/asia.202200376. Epub 2022 Jun 1.

Authors

Mohammad Atiqur Rahman¹, Nurun Nahar Rabin², Saidul Islam^{1

2}, Mashahiro Fukuda¹, Juny Yagyu¹, Zhiqing Feng³, Yoshihiro Sekine^{1

4}, Leonard F Lindoy⁵, Junya Ohyama^{2

3}, Shinya Hayami^{1

2

6}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-8555, Japan.
² Institute of Industrial Nanomaterials (IINa), Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-8555, Japan.
³ Division of Materials Science and Chemistry, Faculty of Advanced Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-8555, Japan.
⁴ Priority Organization for Innovation and Excellence, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, 860-8555, Japan.
⁵ School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.
⁶ International Research Center for Agricultural and Environmental Biology (IRCAEB), 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan.

PMID: 35527229
DOI: 10.1002/asia.202200376

Abstract

Herein, we report an efficient proton exchange membrane formed from a synergistic combination of graphene oxide (GO) and oxidized single-walled carbon nanotube (CNTOX) by the freeze-drying route that gives rise to enhanced fuel cell power density. At 25 °C and 100% relative humidity (RH), the 3DGO-CNTOX hybrid shows remarkably high out-of-plane and in-plane proton conductivities of 6.64×10^-2 and 5.08 S cm^-1 , respectively. Additionally, the measured performance using prepared films as proton conduction membranes in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) exhibited a peak power density of 117.21 mW cm^-2 . The high performance of these films can be ascribed to the freeze-dried-driven structural morphology of 3DGO-CNTOX that facilitates higher water retention capacity as well as the synergistic strengthening effect between GO and CNTOX with a highly interconnected proton conduction network. The current results imply that the new 3DGO-CNTOX hybrid material has potential for wide application as a proton exchange membrane.

Keywords: fuel cell; graphene oxide; oxidized single walled carbon nanotube; proton conductivity; synergistic strengthening.

MeSH terms

Electrolytes
Graphite* / chemistry
Nanotubes, Carbon* / chemistry
Protons

Substances

Electrolytes
Nanotubes, Carbon
Protons
graphene oxide
Graphite

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

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