Nanocomposite membrane by incorporating graphene oxide in sulfonated polyether ether ketone for direct methanol fuel cell

Abstract

Few-layers graphene oxide enriched with oxygen functional groups is successfully obtained and incorporated into sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK) matrix. The functional groups and the surface modification of membranes were identified using FTIR spectroscopy, and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Subsequently, FESEM was employed to study the surface morphology changes, and the X-Ray diffraction (XRD) was performed to ascertain the crystallinity of the fabricated membrane. The distribution of carbonaceous fillers GO in SPEEK matrix was found to actively improved the ion exchange capacity (IEC), and concurrently obstructed the methanol crossover, thus making them intriguing candidates as proton exchange membranes (PEMs).