Issue 17, 2017

A facile approach to fabricating organosilica layered material with sulfonic groups as an efficient filler for polymer electrolyte nanocomposites

Abstract

We report the one-pot synthesis of a siliceous layered material bearing sulfonic group functionalities through the simple sol–gel process of 3-(trihydroxy silyl) propyl-1-propane-sulfonic acid. This easy-fabricated layered nanomaterial can possess a high number of organo-sulfonic groups, rendering it an attractive, multifunctional filler for polymer electrolyte nanocomposites for energy applications such as lithium batteries and fuel cells. X-ray diffraction and photoelectron spectroscopy confirm the layered structure and the presence of sulfonic groups, respectively. In the present work, the silica nanomaterial was tested as a nanofiller for the development of innovative Nafion nanocomposite membranes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Pristine functional material and nanocomposites were characterized by a combination of analytical techniques. The dynamic mechanical analysis showed that composite membranes are much stiffer and can withstand higher temperatures than recast Nafion membrane. Proton transport properties and water management were investigated by 1H pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR spectroscopy, by measuring the water self-diffusion coefficients in a wide temperature range (20–130 °C). The data showed a remarkable high water retention capacity of composite membranes and high proton diffusion in the temperature region above 100 °C, representing a significant advance in the current state-of-the-art technology of PEMFCs.

Graphical abstract: A facile approach to fabricating organosilica layered material with sulfonic groups as an efficient filler for polymer electrolyte nanocomposites

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 Apr 2017
Accepted
19 Jul 2017
First published
07 Aug 2017

New J. Chem., 2017,41, 9489-9496

A facile approach to fabricating organosilica layered material with sulfonic groups as an efficient filler for polymer electrolyte nanocomposites

A. Enotiadis, L. G. Boutsika, K. Spyrou, C. Simari and I. Nicotera, New J. Chem., 2017, 41, 9489 DOI: 10.1039/C7NJ01416C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements