Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membranes for direct methanol fuel cell

Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) membranes with various degrees of sulfonation (DS) were prepared. Their proton conductivity and methanol permeability as a function of temperature were investigated. It was found that the proton conductivity of SPEEK membranes exceeded 10−2 S/cm above 80 °C, which is close to that of Nafion® 115 membrane under the same condition. The methanol permeability of SPEEK membranes was about an order of magnitude lower than that of Nafion® 115 membrane. The direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) performance of the SPEEK membranes was better than that of Nafion® 115 membrane at 80 °C.