Synthesis, Characterization and Transport Properties of Novel Ion-exchange Nanocomposite Membrane Containing In-situ Formed ZnO Nanoparticles

Abstract

A new type of cation-exchange nanocomposite membranes was prepared by in-situ formation of ZnO nanoparticles in a blend containing sulfonated poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) and sulfonated polyvinylchloride via a simple one-step chemical method. As-synthesized nanocomposite membranes were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The SEM images showed that ZnO nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed throughout the polymeric matrices. The effect of additive loading on physicochemical and electrochemical properties of prepared cation-exchange nanocomposite membranes was studied. Various characterizations revealed that the incorporation of different amounts of ZnO nanoparticles into the basic membrane structure had a significant influence on the membrane performance and could improve the electrochemical properties.