Abstract
This research work focuses on developing a robust polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) with high proton efficiency toward proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this study, poly ether sulfone (PES) was sulfonated by chlorosulfonic acid to yield sulfonated poly ether sulfone (SPES) followed by incorporation with bismuth-based additives such as bismuth trimesic acid (BiTMA) and bismuth molybdenum oxide (Bi2MoO6). The composite membrane was thoroughly investigated for its structural and physicochemical properties such as FT-IR, SEM, TGA, contact angle, water uptake, oxidative stability, ion-exchange capacity, and swelling ratio. Incorporation of additives into the polymer was confirmed by XPS and XRD analysis. The proton conductance of the pristine SPES is 4.19 × 10-3 S cm-1, whereas that of the composite membrane SPES/BiTMA-10 is 10 × 10-3 S cm-1 and that of SPES/Bi2MoO6-15 is 7.314 × 10-3 S cm-1; both the composite membranes exhibit higher proton conductivity than the pristine SPES membrane. The physicochemical characteristics and impedance measurements of the electrolyte reported can be viable to the PEM membrane.