Nafion® reinforced with polyacrylonitrile/ZrO2nanofibers for direct methanol fuel cell application

Nafion (R) membrane blended with polyacrylonitrile nanofibers decorated with ZrO(2)was successfully fabricated. The composite membrane showed improved proton conductivity, swelling ratio, thermal and mechanical stability, reduced methanol crossover, and enhanced fuel cell efficiency. The nanocomposite membranes achieved a reduced methanol crossover of 5.465 x 10(-8)cm(2)S(-1)compared to 9.118 x 10(-7)cm(2)S(-1)of recast Nafion (R) membrane using a 5 M methanol solution at 80 degrees C. The composite membrane also showed an ion conductivity of 1.84 compared to 0.25 S cm(-1)recast Nafion (R) at 25 degrees C. The composite membranes showed a peak power density of 68.7 mW center dot cm(-2)at 25 degrees C, these results show a promising composite membrane for fuel cell application.

Automated summary

The study successfully fabricated Nafion(R) composite membrane blended with polyacrylonitrile nanofibers decorated with ZrO(2), showing improved performance in proton conductivity and reduced methanol crossover. The composite membrane exhibited potential for fuel cell applications with increased efficiency and stability.