Synthesis of Proton Exchange Membranes from Vinyl Acetate and Acrylic Ester for Fuel Cell

In this work, proton exchange membranes are synthesized from blend of copolymer of vinyl acetate - acrylic ester and styrene - acrylic ester. Initially the copolymer was modified by a sulfonation process, and then the membranes were made using the casting technique. The water uptake and ion exchange capacity tests were evaluated to characterize membranes. The incorporation of sulfonic groups in the polymeric material increases water uptake until 56.8% and ion exchange capacity until 0.68 meq/ g. These results suggest that the blend of copolymers of vinyl acetate - acrylic ester and styrene - acrylic ester could be an alternative for preparation of membrane for fuel cell