Spectroscopic and thermal characterization of the swelling behavior of nafion membranes in mixtures of water and methanol

Martinez-Felipe, A; Imrie, CT; Ribes-Greus, A

HERO ID

1450266

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

2013

HERO ID 1450266
In Press No
Year 2013
Title Spectroscopic and thermal characterization of the swelling behavior of nafion membranes in mixtures of water and methanol
Authors Martinez-Felipe, A; Imrie, CT; Ribes-Greus, A
Journal Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Volume 127
Issue 1
Page Numbers 246-256
Abstract The spectroscopic and thermal properties of swollen Nafion membranes in methanol aqueous mixtures were investigated to understand the behavior of commercial electrolytes in the presence of polar solvents. Several differences were observed in the absorption processes depending on the composition of the solvent. Deconvolution methods were applied to study specific contributions of solvents and polymer groups based on Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The results evidence compositional effects on the interactions between solvents and Nafion. A major influence of the nonpolar domains (hydrophobic regions) in the absorption of methanol together with a reduction of the interactions with sulfonate groups was observed. Such changes are accompanied by a modification of the cluster morphology of the equilibrated membranes evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry. These findings can be useful to improve the knowledge on Nafion's microstructure in the presence of polar solvents. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2012
Doi 10.1002/app.37881
Wosid WOS:000309594400031
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Comments Source: Web of Science WOS:000309594400031
Is Public Yes
Keyword thermal properties; infrared spectroscopy; membranes