Freeze-thaw integrity of modified Nafion membranes: Microstructure and MEA performance

IF 7.8 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL

Process Safety and Environmental Protection Pub Date : 2025-09-23 DOI:10.1016/j.psep.2025.107915

Ruslan M. Mensharapov , Nataliya A. Ivanova , Dmitry D. Spasov , Matvey V. Sinyakov , Artem V. Bakirov , Akif Sh. Aliyev , Sergey A. Grigoriev , Vladimir N. Fateev

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Abstract

Integrity of Nafion membranes in freeze-thaw cycles is an important factor which should be considered when developing proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) for the wide range of operating temperatures. Freezing of the Nafion membrane swollen in water leads to desorption of free water/ice on the membrane surface, which causes delamination of catalyst layer, and changes in membrane microstructure. To increase Nafion stability, in situ sol-gel modification with silica nanoparticles was carried out. Morphological changes of pristine and modified membranes during freeze-thaw cycles were investigated by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), in addition water uptake and proton conductivity were determined. Stabilization of the structure of ionic domains due to the introduction of silica nanoparticles into the membrane was shown. The observed changes can be attributed to a decrease in the intensity of water sorption-desorption processes and stabilization of ionic domains by modifier nanoparticles. The MEAs fabricated using modified membranes demonstrated enhanced stability during freeze-thaw cycling.

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改性Nafion膜的冻融完整性：微观结构和MEA性能

冻融循环中Nafion膜的完整性是开发适用于大工作温度范围的质子交换膜燃料电池（PEMFC）时应考虑的一个重要因素。Nafion膜在水中膨胀后冻结，导致膜表面游离水/冰的解吸，导致催化剂层脱层，膜微观结构发生变化。为了提高Nafion的稳定性，采用纳米二氧化硅进行了原位溶胶-凝胶改性。利用小角x射线散射（SAXS）研究了原始膜和改性膜在冻融循环过程中的形态变化，并测定了膜的吸水率和质子电导率。离子域结构的稳定是由于引入二氧化硅纳米颗粒到膜。观察到的变化可归因于水吸附-解吸过程强度的降低和改性纳米颗粒对离子域的稳定。改性膜制备的MEAs在冻融循环过程中表现出更高的稳定性。

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来源期刊

Process Safety and Environmental Protection 环境科学-工程：化工

CiteScore

11.40

自引率

15.40%

发文量

929

审稿时长

8.0 months

期刊介绍： The Process Safety and Environmental Protection (PSEP) journal is a leading international publication that focuses on the publication of high-quality, original research papers in the field of engineering, specifically those related to the safety of industrial processes and environmental protection. The journal encourages submissions that present new developments in safety and environmental aspects, particularly those that show how research findings can be applied in process engineering design and practice. PSEP is particularly interested in research that brings fresh perspectives to established engineering principles, identifies unsolved problems, or suggests directions for future research. The journal also values contributions that push the boundaries of traditional engineering and welcomes multidisciplinary papers. PSEP's articles are abstracted and indexed by a range of databases and services, which helps to ensure that the journal's research is accessible and recognized in the academic and professional communities. These databases include ANTE, Chemical Abstracts, Chemical Hazards in Industry, Current Contents, Elsevier Engineering Information database, Pascal Francis, Web of Science, Scopus, Engineering Information Database EnCompass LIT (Elsevier), and INSPEC. This wide coverage facilitates the dissemination of the journal's content to a global audience interested in process safety and environmental engineering.