Study of Innovative GO/PBI Composites as Possible Proton Conducting Membranes for Electrochemical Devices.

ABSTRACT: The appeal of combining polybenzimidazole (PBI) and graphene oxide (GO) for the manufacturing of membranes is increasingly growing, due to their versatility. Nevertheless, GO has always been used only as a filler in the PBI matrix. In such context, this work proposes the design of a simple, safe, and reproducible procedure to prepare self-assembling GO/PBI composite membranes characterized by GO-to-PBI (X:Y) mass ratios of 1:3, 1:2, 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1. SEM and XRD suggested a homogenous reciprocal dispersion of GO and PBI, which established an alternated stacked structure by mutual π-π interactions among the benzimidazole rings of PBI and the aromatic domains of GO. TGA indicated a remarkable thermal stability of the composites. From mechanical tests, improved tensile strengths but worsened

SUBMITTER: Di Virgilio M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10143660 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature