Superhydrophilic polyphenylene sulfide fabric membrane enabled by ZrO₂ nanoparticles for efficient alkaline water...

Alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) is a commercially viable and promising technology for producing green hydrogen, offering a pathway to mitigate the ongoing energy crisis and environmental challenges. However, the inherent hydrophobicity of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) fabric membranes used in conventional AWE systems impedes the transport of alkaline solution, thereby limiting hydrogen production efficiency. In this study, hydrophilic zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂) nanoparticles were synthesized by grafting them with abundant hydroxyl groups and subsequently incorporated into the PPS fabric membrane. This modification transformed the originally hydrophobic membrane into a superhydrophilic one, allowing water droplets to penetrate within 0.22 s. The enhanced hydrophilicity significantly accelerated the diffusion of alkaline solutions through the membrane, resulting in a reduction in area resistance. Moreover, the membrane demonstrated excellent chemical stability, with only ∼0.6 wt% mass loss after 120 h of immersion in 30 wt% potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution at 80 °C. When employed in the AWE process under the same conditions, the optimized membrane achieved a reduced applied voltage of 2.18 V at a current density of 0.5 A/cm², effectively lowering energy consumption while maintaining stable performance over 170 h. Owing to its scalable dip-coating technique, the proposed superhydrophilic membrane holds strong potential for industrial-scale AWE applications.