Polybenzimidazole/MnTiO3 nanocomposite membranes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

PBI (polybenzimidazole)-MnTiO3 (PMT) nanocomposite membranes have been prepared with solutions casting method. The nanocomposite membranes were characterized by using AC impedance spectroscopy (IS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that the water uptake and proton conductivity of the PMT nanocomposite membranes were higher than that of PBI based membrane because of hydrophilic nature of MnTiO3 nanoparticles. When the prepared membranes doped with phosphoric acid (PA), due to proton transfer from PA, PA-PMT nanocomposite membranes displayed higher proton conductivity than PMT nanocomposite membranes. Incorporation of nanoparticles in nanocomposite membranes increased the thermal stability of PA-PMT nanocomposite membranes compared with PA-PBI membranes