PROTON CONDUCTIVITY AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF CSH2PO4 – BA(H2PO4)2

The work was carried out with a partial financial support from the grant of RFBR n 15-08-08961

Proton-Conducting Membranes Based on CsH2PO4 and Copolymer of Tetrafluoroethylene with Vinylidene Fluoride

Received: 27.06.22. Revised: 15.07.22. Accepted: 15.07.22. Available online: 19.07.22.In this work, proton conductivity, morphology and mechanical properties of (1–x)CsH2PO4–xF-42 (x=0.05–0.3, weight ratio) membranes were investigated for the first time. Thin flexible membranes for x≥0.15 with the uniform distribution of the components were obtained by a tape casting method. Mechanical properties of the membranes were measured by Vickers microhardness tests for a low polymer content (x˂0.15), also the tensile strength for membranes with high polymer content x=0.2–0.3 were evaluated. Proton conductivity of the (1–x)CsH2PO4–xpF-42 composite polymer electrolytes decreases monotonically with increasing x due to the effect of a «conductorinsulator » percolation. The combination of conductivity, mechanical strength and hydrophobic properties of (1–x)CsH2PO4–xF-42 makes certain compositions of proton-conducting membranes (x~0.2–0.25) promising for their use in intermediate-temperature fuel cells, despite decreased conductivityThis work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant no. 21-73-00298)