Sulfonated Poly (Ether Ether Ketone) and its Blended Nanocomposite for Proton Conducting Membranes

By : Abdul Kalam Azad, Arvind Gupta, Lakshmi Unnikrishnan, Smita Mohanty, Sanjay Kumar Nayak

Page No: 121-136

Abstract
Proton conducting hydrophilic channels were created successfully in poly (ether ether ketone) (PEEK) by means of step by step modification followed by the optimization of sulfonation process (SPEEK70, DS=68.57%). Although highly sulfonated PEEK has excellent proton conductivity, it lacks in mechanical stability due to low swelling degree. Therefore, a potential method has been proposed in this work by integrating poly (sulfone) and nanosilica (SiO2) into SPEEK matrix. SPEEK 70 (S) was utilized to prepare blended nanocomposite membranes for further enhancement of hydrophilic channels. The blended nanocomposite membranes are, SPEEK/SiO2 as SNS, SPEEK blended with poly (sulfone) as SP, SPEEK blended with sulfonated poly (sulfone) as SSP and SPEEK blended with sulfonated poly (sulfone)/ (SiO2) as SSPNS. All the prepared membranes were characterized and its performance was discussed in detail to identify the appropriate membrane for the better replacement of Nafion. Expected intermolecular interaction and its obstruction of free hydrophilic channels were confirmed with the gradual increase in proton conductivity from 0.0165 to 0.2557mS/cm.

Authors :
Abdul Kalam Azad
Department of Chemical and Process Engineering Technology, Jubail Industrial College, Jubail Industrial City 31961, Saudi Arabia.

Arvind Gupta
CIPET, School for Advanced Research in Polymers (SARP) - LARPM, B/25, CNI Complex, Patia, Bhubaneswar 751 024, India.

Lakshmi Unnikrishnan
CIPET, School for Advanced Research in Polymers (SARP) - LARPM, B/25, CNI Complex, Patia, Bhubaneswar 751 024, India.

Smita Mohanty
CIPET, School for Advanced Research in Polymers (SARP) - LARPM, B/25, CNI Complex, Patia, Bhubaneswar 751 024, India.

Sanjay Kumar Nayak
CIPET, School for Advanced Research in Polymers (SARP) - LARPM, B/25, CNI Complex, Patia, Bhubaneswar 751 024, India.
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/JPM.2021.38.1-2.10