Shahjahan Chowdury1,Young Cho1,Sung Park1,Yong-il Park1
Kumoh National Institute of Technology1
Shahjahan Chowdury1,Young Cho1,Sung Park1,Yong-il Park1
Kumoh National Institute of Technology1
Graphene oxide membrane (GOM) has promising electrolyte properties in electrochemical devices, including fuel cells and batteries. However, GOM has a much lower proton conductivity in a through-plane direction (σ<sub>th</sub>) than that of the most commonly known PEMFC electrolyte of Nafion<sup>®</sup> membrane. And the lamellar structure of 2-dimensional graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets show a large anisotropic conductivity, fuel crossover, and negative surface functional groups reduced by hydrogen atmosphere while operating in the PEMFC. In this study, rapid proton-conducting GOMs were synthesized by homogeneous mixing of the diluted (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (MPTS, HS(CH<sub>2</sub>)<sub>3</sub>Si(OCH<sub>3</sub>)<sub>3</sub>) and GO, i.e., M-GOM, and then oxidizes to supply a proton conduction pathways by obtaining a sulfonic acid ligand (-HSO3), where MPTS covalently bonded to the surface of GO through the hydrolysis (Si-OCH<sub>3</sub> to Si-OH) and condensation reaction (Si-OH to Si-O-C), and thiol group (-HS) of MPTS was oxidized to accomplish a -HSO<sub>3</sub>. Excellent proton conductivity was observed, due to silane-based network formation and a dramatic increase in proton conduction sites. The influence of the fabricated M-GOM on morphology, physicochemical properties, atomic bonding, and crystalline phase are investigated and compared with Nafion<sup>®</sup>. After depositing a hydrogen-permeable metal thin film (Pd) on M-GOM, it is utilized in a hydrogen membrane fuel cell (HMFC), and its operating characteristics are also reported.