Novel nanocomposite proton exchange membranes based on Nafion® and AMPS-modified montmorillonite for fuel cell applications

A series of novel proton exchange membranes based on Nafion (R) and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) modified montmorillonite (MMT) were prepared and investigated for high performance fuel cell applications. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed an exfoliated microstructure for the modified clay in the Nafion (R) matrices. Proton conductivity and methanol permeability results indicated that the incorporation of AMPS-modified MMT into Nafion (R) matrices results in considerably reduced methanol crossover while maintaining conductivity properties. Direct methanol-air single fuel cell tests revealed a cell efficiency of 20% for Nafion (R)/AMPS-MMT-3 wt.% compared to 13.72% for Nafion (R) 117 at 5 M methanol feed, and also a higher power density of 88 mW cm(-2) compared to 39 mW cm(-2) for Nafion (R) 117. Owing to such favorable features, fabricated Nafion (R)/AMPS-MMT membranes could be considered as promising polymeric electrolytes for high performance fuel cell applications. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.