Nanocomposite Based on Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles and Sulfonated Poly(ether ether ketone) Membranes: Synthesis and Characterization

Iole Venditti; Laura Fontana; Francesca A Scaramuzzo; Maria Vittoria Russo; Chiara Battocchio; Laura Carlini; Laurent Gonon; Vincent H Mareau; Ilaria Fratoddi

doi:10.3390/ma10030258

Nanocomposite Based on Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles and Sulfonated Poly(ether ether ketone) Membranes: Synthesis and Characterization

Materials (Basel). 2017 Mar 3;10(3):258. doi: 10.3390/ma10030258.

Authors

Iole Venditti¹, Laura Fontana², Francesca A Scaramuzzo³, Maria Vittoria Russo⁴, Chiara Battocchio⁵, Laura Carlini⁶, Laurent Gonon⁷, Vincent H Mareau⁸, Ilaria Fratoddi⁹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. iole.venditti@uniroma1.it.
² Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. laura.fontana@uniroma1.it.
³ Department of Basic and Applied Sciences for Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Via A. Scarpa 14, 00161 Rome, Italy. Francesca.scaramuzzo@uniroma1.it.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. mariavittoria.russo@uniroma1.it.
⁵ Department of Sciences, and CISDiC, Roma Tre University, Via della Vasca Navale 79, 00146 Roma, Italy. chiara.battocchio@uniroma3.it.
⁶ Department of Sciences, and CISDiC, Roma Tre University, Via della Vasca Navale 79, 00146 Roma, Italy. Laura.carlini@uniroma3.it.
⁷ CNRS, CEA, INAC-SPrAM, University Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, France. laurent.gonon@ujf-grenoble.fr.
⁸ CNRS, CEA, INAC-SPrAM, University Grenoble Alpes, F-38000 Grenoble, France. vincent.mareau@ujf-grenoble.fr.
⁹ Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le A. Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. ilaria.fratoddi@uniroma1.it.

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles, capped by 3-mercapto propane sulfonate (Au-3MPS), were synthesized inside a swollen sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membrane (sPEEK). The formation of the Au-3MPS nanoparticles in the swollen sPEEK membrane was observed by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The nanocomposite containing the gold nanoparticles grown in the sPEEK membrane, showed the plasmon resonance λ_max at about 520 nm, which remained stable over a testing period of three months. The size distribution of the nanoparticles was assessed, and the sPEEK membrane roughness, both before and after the synthesis of nanoparticles, was studied by AFM. The XPS measurements confirm Au-3MPS formation in the sPEEK membrane. Moreover, AFM experiments recorded in fluid allowed the production of images of the Au-3MPS@sPEEK composite in water at different pH levels, achieving a better understanding of the membrane behavior in a water environment; the dynamic hydration process of the Au-3MPS@sPEEK membrane was investigated. These preliminary results suggest that the newly developed nanocomposite membranes could be promising materials for fuel cell applications.

Keywords: atomic force microscopy; fluid cell; gold nanoparticles; metal nanoparticles; proton exchange membranes; sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membranes.