synthesis, characterization and transport properties of novel ion-exchange nanocomposite membrane containing in-situ formed zno nanoparticles

a  new  type  of  cation-exchange  nanocomposite  membranes  was prepared  by  in-situ  formation  of  zno  nanoparticles  in  a  blend containing  sulfonated  poly  (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene  oxide)  and sulfonated polyvinylchloride  via  a  simple  one-step  chemical method.  as-synthesized  nanocomposite  membranes were characterized  using  fourier  transform  infrared  spectroscopy, scanning  electron  microscopy  and x-ray  diffraction.  the  sem images  showed  that  zno  nanoparticles  were  uniformly  dispersed throughout the polymeric matrices. the effect of additive loading on physicochemical and electrochemical properties of prepared cation-exchange  nanocomposite  membranes  was  studied.  various characterizations revealed that  the  incorporation  of  different amounts  of  zno  nanoparticles  into  the  basic  membrane  structure had a significant influence on the membrane performance and could improve the electrochemical properties.