Investigation into the influence of boron nitride addition on the properties of SPEEK/PBI based electrolyte membrane

To overcome the limitation of SPEEK/PBI membrane, BN was introduced to the membrane in different percentages. Firstly, boron nitride was functionalized by introducing hydroxyl group using KMNO4, H2O2, as oxidation agents. At the same time SPEEK was prepared by sulfonating PEEK at 80 degrees C using sulfonic acid. Further, a SPEEK/PBI/BN blend was prepared by dissolving SPEEK/BN in DMCs and then mixed with PBI heated solution. The percentage of the BN were 10%, 15 and 20%. The prepared membranes were characterized, however, SPEEK/PBI/BN-10% showed the optimum physicochemical properties; in which the degree of sulfonating, ion exchange capacity, water uptake, tensile stress, ionic conductivity, and thermal stability were 80.53%, 2.18 meq.g 1, 6.13%,8.61 MPa, 245 mS/cm, and 316.6 degrees C. The results show that the addition of BN influenced the characteristics of the membrane remarkably in a positive way as the protonic conductivity increased remarkably from 170 mS/cm to 245 mS/cm. Moreover, there was a huge enhancement in the thermal stability and the ionic conductivity. (c) 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.