Synthesis of Imidazole Coated Magnetic Particles as a Candidate Material for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane in Fuel Cells
摘要
The aim of this research is to create a novel conductive material that has the capability to efficiently initiate proton transfer in a fuel cell membrane by conjugating imidazole with magnetic particles (MagP). The alignment of heterocyclic molecules by applying MagP facilitated proton transfer. The imidazole coated magnetic particles (Imid-MagP) was synthesized through several steps including the consecutive synthesis of oleic coated MagP (Oleic-MagP) and epoxy coated MagP (Epoxy-MagP). Elemental analysis of Imid-MagP was carried and the particle size distribution and morphology of Imid-MagP were investigated. It was identified that Fe was the most abundant element in Imid-MagP (87.94 wt %), the particle size distribution of Imid-MagP was 134.16 nm, and the morphology of Imid-MagP exhibited a lump-like material. The FTIR spectra of Imid-MagP exhibited a shift of imidazole at 1550 cm−1, which refers to the N-H deformation band. The ion exchange capacity (IEC), an important property in fuel cells that indicates the amount of proton exchanged in the material, of Imid-MagP was 0.675 mmol.g−1. The Imid-MagP material demonstrated excellent properties for improving proton conductivity, which is very important in fuel cell applications.