Improving the proton conductivity of graphene oxide membranes by intercalating cations

Nur Laila Hamidah*, Masataka Shintani, Aynul Sakinah Ahmad Fauzi, Elaine G. Mission, Kazuto Hatakeyama, Armando T. Quitain, Tetsuya Kida*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) membrane has gained increasing attention because of its extraordinary physical and chemical properties and high proton conductivity. GO is rich in oxygenated functional groups, which can support proton transportation. However, pristine GO is unstable at high temperatures due to the removal of oxygen functional groups, resulting in a decrease in the interlayer distance of stacked GO nanosheets. Hence, we propose a modification of GO membranes via the intercalation of cations to enhance the proton conductivity. Modified self-standing GO membranes with Al3+ and La3+ were fabricated by a vacuum filtration method. They exhibited a larger distance of the interlayer that serves as proton hopping pathways. Furthermore, the modified GO membrane showed a higher proton conductivity than a pristine GO membrane even at 80 °C, as confirmed by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. The results demonstrate that intercalating cations in between GO nanosheets is effective in improving the practical feasibility of proton conducting GO membranes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number630
JournalSN Applied Sciences
Volume1
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2019

Keywords

  • Cations
  • Graphene oxide membranes
  • Proton conductivity
  • Thermal stability

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Improving the proton conductivity of graphene oxide membranes by intercalating cations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this