1P-272: Organic-inorganic hybrid composite membrane for Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Applications

Sulfonated poly (phenylene oxide) - nano sized silica (SiO2) hybrid composite membrane was prepared for enhance the unit cell performance of vanadium redox flow battery application. Compared to other hydrocarbon polymers, the low cost of PPO were sulfonated through the chlorosulfonic acid (CSA). The inorganic SiO2 nano particles were dispersed in the polymer matrix through the facile chemical synthetic techniques. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy FTIR, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis were characterized for functional group and structural analysis. The physicochemical characterization of degree of sulfonation (DS), water uptake, swelling ratio, ion exchange capacity (IEC) and ionic conductivity (IC) were measured to the sPPO and hybrid membranes. Compared to various concentration of organic-inorganic materials, the composition of sPPO/1% SiO2 membrane shows the excellent performances in the physico-chemical characterizations.