Synthesis and characterization of proton exchange membrane employing waste polystyrene as precursor

Abstract

Abstract In the present work, waste polystyrene was successfully applied as a precursor for the synthesis of proton exchange membrane (PEM). The study also examined the membrane characteristics before and after sulfonation and the latter reaction was facilitated with the aid of acetyl sulfate. The obtained membranes were characterized for its inherent nature. The functional group analysis of the raw precursor clearly discloses the presence of sulfonic groups in the raw precursor and increase in sulfonic groups were observed for the sulfonated samples. The thermogravimetric results revealed that the raw precursor and the sulfonated membrane (SM) exhibited almost similar thermal stability. The sulfonation contributed for better water uptake and is further proven by ion exchange capacity and proton conductivity analysis where SM achieved higher IEC and proton conductivity. The IEC increased from 0.105 to 0.536 meq/L and from 4.357 × 10−7 to 1.327 × 10−6 S/cm for proton conductivity. Thus, the study has proven the viability of waste plastics as a precursor for the synthesis of PEMs.