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Enhanced proton conductivity of polymer electrolyte membrane doped with titanate nanotubes

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Abstract

Nafion-titanate nanotubes composite membranes were prepared through a casting process. With the addition of 5 wt.%, the nanotubes were homogenously distributed in Nafion solution. The formed composite membrane showed a comparable mechanical strength to Nafion membrane. The proton conductivity of the composite membrane without external humidification is higher than that of the Nafion membrane, reaching 0.034 Scm−1 and 0.01 Scm−1 at 100 °C and 120 °C, respectively. The improved proton conductivity was attributed to the great water retention ability of the doped nanotubes.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the NSFC (50632050 20806061), RSF for ROCS from SEM, and the National Hi-Tech R&D Program of China (2008AA050403 2009CB939705).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Qiong Li, Chuan **ao, Wei Li, Haining Zhang & Mu Pan

  2. Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Hubei Province, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Haining Zhang & Mu Pan

  3. College of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Feitai Chen & Pengfei Fang

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  1. Qiong Li
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  2. Chuan **ao
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  3. Wei Li
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  4. Haining Zhang
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  7. Mu Pan
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Correspondence to Haining Zhang or Pengfei Fang.

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Li, Q., **ao, C., Li, W. et al. Enhanced proton conductivity of polymer electrolyte membrane doped with titanate nanotubes. Colloid Polym Sci 288, 1369–1374 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-010-2268-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-010-2268-9

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