Surface modification of grafted porous polyvinylidine fluoride membrane with graphene oxide for vanadium redox flow battery

Abstract

Vanadium Redox Flow Battery (VRFB) is an energy storage flow battery in whichthe key material for VRFB is the membrane that determines the cost and performance of the battery. Porous membranes have shown a great potential as a membrane due to their high stability, cheap and high selectivity. Poly(vinylidine fluoride) (PVDF) is a type of porous membrane that was extensively studied as a potential material for surface modification due to its thermal and chemical stability, inexpensive and mechanical properties. This study aims to develop a highly selective, high-performance modified PVDF membrane using surface grafting and functionalization for VRFB application using the sonication method. Graphene oxide (GO) is a trending material in the field due to its excellent properties such as being highly resistant to alkaline/acidic and strong mechanical strength, low cost and easily accessible. In this work, GO was functionalized on both sides of grafted PVDF using the sonication technique. Hydrogen bond from modification with GO caused the membrane to be a hydrophilic and FTIR results proved that new peaks appeared which relates to carbon bond from GO. Proton conductivity of modified membrane is recorded higher than commercial VRFB membrane, Nafion.