Ti3C2Tx Filler Effect on the Proton Conduction Property of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane

Conductive polymer electrolyte membranes are increasingly attractive for a wide range of applications in hydrogen-relevant devices, for instance hydrogen fuel cells. In this study, two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx, a typical representative of the recently developed MXene family, is synthesized and employed as a universal filler for its features of large specific surface area, high aspect ratio, and sufficient terminated -OH groups. The Ti3C2Tx is incorporated into polymer matrix to explore its function on membrane microstructure and proton conduction property. Both phase-separated (acidic Nafion and sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)) and non-phase-separated (basic chitosan) polymers are utilized as membrane matrixes. The microstructures, physicochemical properties, and proton conduction properties of the membranes are extensively investigated. It is demonstrated that Ti3C2Tx generates significant promotion effect on proton conduction of the composite membrane by facilitating both vehicle-type and Grotthuss-type proton transfer, yielding several times increased proton conductivity for every polymer-based composite membrane under various conditions, and the composite membrane achieves elevated hydrogen fuel cell performance. The stable Ti3C2Tx also reinforces the thermal and mechanical stabilities of these composite membranes. Since the MXene family includes more than 70 members, this exploration is expected to open up new perspectives for expanding their applications, especially as membrane modifiers and proton conductors.