Abstract
GAMMA irradiations pose very important role for finally cross-linking, poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and acrylamide (AAm) with different ratios. The addition of 0.3% carbon nano-wire into the cast mixture was well mixed prior to being exposure to the irradiation doses (kGy). It was found that; 10 kGy was the optimum dose in order to attain accepted physical properties for the fuel cell's application. Phosphorylation of the casted membranes was performed to improve their specifications for the desired application. Characterizations of the casted membranes were carried out using Fourier transformer infra-red (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for their investigations chemically, thermally and morphologically respectively. Studying the properties of the membranes was performed using ion exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake and tensile strength for testifying their availability into the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Proton conductivity was measured (maximum value was 8.1 x 10(-2) S/cm) and free volumes sizes were evaluated using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). The casted membrane confirmed their capability for using into PEMFCs by measuring the fuel cell performance and durability (up to 500 hours) comparing to compressed Nafion (R) 1110.