Novel Functionalized Graphene Oxide-Polymer Nanocomposite Anion Exchange Membranes

Anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) have recently gained considerable interest toward applications in fuel cells, electrolyzers and membrane separation processes. The aim of the current work is to fabricate novel functionalized graphene oxide-polymer nanocomposite AEMs with improved hydroxyl conductivity, selectivity and thermo-mechanical stability. For this purpose, graphene oxide sheets (GO) were functionalized with different cations (ammonium, pyridinium, and immidazolium) using a covalent bonding approach. Then, the functionalized graphene oxide sheets (FGO) were incorporated into two commercially available AEMs, Fumapem® FAA-3 and Fumapem® FAAM via solvent-casting method. The effects of some variables such as cation type, functionalization degree and FGO content on the material properties of these new-developed materials were investigated. FTIR, Raman, XPS, TGA, UV-vis, XRD, TEM, SEM and impedance spectroscopy were used to characterize both FGO and the nanocomposite AEMs.