Self-Standing, Robust Membranes Made of Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs) and a Protic Ionic Liquid: Toward Sustainable Electrolytes for Fuel CellsShow others and affiliations
2021 (English)In: ACS Applied Energy Materials, E-ISSN 2574-0962, Vol. 4, no 7, p. 6474-6485Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Energy-conversion devices based on the phenomenon of proton conduction, for example, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), require low cost and sustainable electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and good mechanical properties under anhydrous conditions and at temperatures up to 150 °C. Biopolymers possess an intrinsic thermomechanical stability but an insufficient proton conductivity in the dry state, which however may be imparted by a protic ionic liquid (PIL). This work presents the preparation and properties of composite membranes made of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and a PIL. The membranes are thermally stable and display an ionic conductivity within the range 10-4-10-3 S/cm for temperatures between 120 and 160 °C. Moreover, the analysis of the biopolymer's apparent dimensions at nanoscale reveals a dependence of the CNCs' defects, twisting, and aggregation in the presence of the PIL. Preliminary tests using a simple fuel cell setup demonstrate a response of the membranes to the inlet of H2 gas, with a generation of electrical current. These findings provide a solid groundwork for further development and future studies of biopolymer/PIL electrolytes for energy applications. © 2021 The Authors.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Chemical Society , 2021. Vol. 4, no 7, p. 6474-6485
Keywords [en]
cellulose nanocrystals, fuel cell, nanoscale, polymer electrolyte, protic ionic liquid, Biomolecules, Biopolymers, Cellulose, Cellulose derivatives, Composite membranes, Energy conversion, Ionic conductivity, Ionic liquids, Membranes, Polyelectrolytes, Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC), Anhydrous conditions, Cellulose nanocrystal (CNCs), Energy applications, Energy conversion devices, Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFCs), Properties of composites, Protic ionic liquids, Thermomechanical stability, Solid electrolytes
National Category
Materials Chemistry
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-55675DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.1c00452Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85110996794OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-55675DiVA, id: diva2:1583710
Note
Funding details: Stiftelsen för Strategisk Forskning, SSF, FFL-15 0092; Funding details: Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse, 2016-0220; Funding text 1: The authors acknowledge the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF, grant FFL-15 0092) and the Knut & Alice Wallenberg Foundation (Wallenberg Academy Fellows, grant 2016-0220) for the financial support as well as Chalmers Materials Analysis Laboratory (CMAL) for the XRD and SAXS instruments. Mina Fazilati and Szilvia Vavra (PhD students at Chalmers) are acknowledged for their help in using optical microscopy and collecting SEM images, respectively. The authors thank Eduard Maurina Morais for help in mounting the cell for a fuel cell test.
2021-08-092021-08-092023-06-02Bibliographically approved