Abstract—A novel Sulfonated Polystyrene (PSS) has been
synthesized by sulfonation polystyrene waste for a comparative
study of proton exchange membranes (PEM) that is intended
for fuel cell applications. The degree of sulfonation (DS) of the
sulfonated PS was determined using titration method. We
systematically investigated the water uptake, proton
conductivity, and methanol permeability of the cross-linked
membranes. The mass averaged molecular weights Mw of PSS
was estimated from intrinsic viscosities measured in sulfuric
acid solutions. A related homopolymer was characterized by
Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic
resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The structures of PSS were
elucidated, and the effect of sulfonation level on the PSS FT-IR
spectrum was studied. PSS membrane surface morphology was
investigated by SEM and AFM.
The highest of proton conductivity of the membrane in the
temperature range of 25–750C was found to be 3.8 μS/cm.
Index Terms—AFM, FT-IR, fuel cell, polystyrene sulfonated,
SEM.
S. Mulijani is with Department of Chemistry Bogor Agriculture
university, Darmaga Campus, Bogor, Indonesia (e-mail: smulijani@ipb.ac.id,
janism67@gmail.com).
K. Dahlan is with Department of Physics, Bogor Agriculture University,
Darmaga Campus, Bogor, Indonesia (e-mail: kiagusdahlan@)ipb.ac.id).
A. Wulanawati is with Department of Chemistry Bogor Agriculture
university, Darmaga Campus, Bogor, Indonesia (e-mail: armiwu@ipb.ac.id).
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Cite:S. Mulijani, K. Dahlan, and A. Wulanawati, "Sulfonated Polystyrene Copolymer: Synthesis, Characterization and Its Application of Membrane for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC)," International Journal of Materials, Mechanics and Manufacturing vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 36-40, 2014.
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