Physicochemical studies of chitosan blended sulfonated poly ether-ether ketone and graphene oxide as filler for direct methanol fuel cell

Abstract

Chitosan (CS) was successfully extracted from the shrimp shell of Litopenaeus vanamei and used as a biopolymer for the fuel cells. The composite membranes containing chitosan blended poly ether-ether ketone (PEEK) and graphene oxide (GO) as filler were fabricated using the solvent evaporation method, and their physicochemical studies were also investigated. The sulfonation degree of sulfonated poly ether-ether ketone (SPEEK) was 60.61%. Among the fabricated membranes, the CS/SPEEK/SGO membrane was the best membrane to achieve high ion exchange capacity (IEC) 5.94 mmol g–1. Moreover, its methanol uptake and permeability were 6.21% and 6.34×10–6 cm2 s–1, respectively. The highest water uptake was also obtained by CS/SPEEK/SGO membrane, which is 61.54%, followed by other membranes CS/SGO, CS/GO, CS/SPEEK, CS/SPEEK/GO, and CS. In comparison, the lowest water uptake was obtained by pristine CS membrane, which is 52.17%.