Hydrophilic Chitosan-Doped Composite Diaphragm Reducing Gas Permeation for Alkaline Water Electrolysis Producing Hydrogen
Jinghua Yu, Qingqing Zhu, Wenli Ma, Yajie Dai, Shuhuan Zhang, Fanghui Wang, Hong Zhu
Abstract
The present paper studied the chitosan-doped composite diaphragm by the phase exchange method with the objective of developing a composite diaphragm that complies with the alkaline water electrolysis requirements, as well as tested the electrolytic performance of the diaphragm in alkaline water electrolysis. The structure and morphology are characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The performance of chitosan-doped composite diaphragms was tested; CS 3 Z 12 composite diaphragm with a low area resistance (0.20 Ω cm 2 ), a high bubble point pressure (2.75 bar), and excellent electrochemical performance (current density of 650 mA cm –2 at 1.83 V) shows the best performance. Moreover, the performance of the synthesized composite diaphragm is significantly elevated compared to commercial diaphragms (Zirfon PERL), which is promising for practical application in alkaline electrolytic cells.