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  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 145
    Citation - Scopus: 163
    Polybenzimidazole Based Nanocomposite Membranes With Enhanced Proton Conductivity for High Temperature Pem Fuel Cells
    (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd, 2017) Ozdemir, Yagmur; Uregen, Nurhan; Devrim, Yilser
    In this study, phosphoric acid doped PBI nanocomposite membranes were prepared by dispersion of various amounts of inorganic nanoparticles in PBI polymer followed by phosphoric acid (H3PO4) doping for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFC). All of the PBI composite membranes were cast from the same FBI polymer with the same molecular weight. Titanium dioxide (TiO2), silicon dioxide (SiO2) and inorganic proton conductor zirconium phosphate (ZrP) were used as inorganic fillers. The PBI based composite membranes were characterized in terms of their acid uptake and acid leaching properties, mechanical properties, chemical stabilities in N-N Dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and impedance analyses. Thermal gravimetric analysis confirmed the improved thermal stability of the PBI composite membranes. The existence of inorganic fillers was improved the acid retention capability. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) showed that the introduction of 5 wt. % SiO2 or 5 wt. % ZrP helps to increase proton conductivity. The composite membrane with TiO2 retained low conductivity values than pristine PBI and this is a result of its non-uniform membrane structure. The highest proton conductivity of 0.200 S/cm was obtained for PBI/ZrP composite membrane with the highest value of H3PO4 doping level. Nyquist plots are drawn for all the membranes at different temperatures and the plots showed good fit with Randel's circuit. As a result the experimental results suggested that the PBI based composite membranes may be a promising electrolyte used in HT-PEMFC. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 92
    Citation - Scopus: 103
    Fabrication and Characterization of Cross-Linked Polybenzimidazole Based Membranes for High Temperature Pem Fuel Cells
    (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd, 2017) Ozdemir, Yagmur; Ozkan, Necati; Devrim, Yilser
    In this study different types of crosslinked polybenzimidazole (PBI) membranes were compared as high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFC). Cross-linking of PBI was performed with different cross-linkers including bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE), ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE), alpha-alpha'-dibromo-p-xylene (DBpX), and terephthalaldehyde (TPA). The crosslinked membranes have been characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, acid uptake and impedance analyses. The crosslinking of the PBI polymer matrix helps to improve the acid retention properties. PBI/BADGE presented the highest acid retention properties. Proton conductivities of the membranes were comparable to that of commercial membranes. Conductivity values up to 0.151 S.cm(-1) were obtained at 180 degrees C with PBI/DBpX membranes. Gas diffusion electrodes (GDE) were fabricated by an ultrasonic coating technique with 0.6 mg Pt.cm(-2) catalyst loading for both anode and cathode. The crosslinked membranes were tested in a single HT-PEMFC with a 5 cm(2) active area at 165 degrees C without humidification. PBI/BADGE crosslinked membranes demonstrated stability and high performance on single cell HT-PEMFC tests. The maximum power density for PBI/BADGE was determined as 0.123 W. cm(-2). As a result, the experimental results suggested that the PBI/ BADGE and PBI/DBpX cross-linked membranes are promising electrolyte options for HT-PEMFC. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.