Proton conducting composite membranes comprising sulfonated Poly(1,4-phenylene sulfide) and zeolite for fuel cell

Sulfonated poly(1,4-phenylene sulfide; SPPS) was prepared from poly(1,4- phenylene sulfide) and fuming sulfuric acid by sulfonation process. Novel hybrid organic/inorganic composite polymer electrolyte membranes based on sulfonated poly(1,4-phenylene sulfide) membrane with varying concentrations of zeolite were synthesized. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy implied the presence of a specific interaction between SPPS and zeolite particles. Upon increasing the zeolite concentration to 10 wt.%, the proton conductivity of composite membrane reduced from 0.075 to 0.02 S cm^-1 at room temperature which may be due to strong interaction between sulfonic group of SPPS and the zeolite particles. The water uptake of the composite membrane reduced from 255% to 150% with the increase of the zeolite concentration to 10 wt.%. The thermal stability analysis showed the enhancement of thermal stability of the composite membranes with increasing concentration of zeolite.