J Polym Eng 2019; 39(4): 360–367

Kumar Gaurav, Ram Singh, Brajesh Kumar Tiwari and Richa Srivastava*

Novel proton exchange membranes based on PVC

for microbial fuel cells (MFCs)
https://doi.org/10.1515/polyeng-2018-0276 candidates for alternative energy due to its efficient and
Received September 3, 2018; accepted January 16, 2019; p
­ reviously environmentally benign nature [5, 6]. In microbial fuel
­published online February 28, 2019
cells (MFCs), bacterial energy is converted to electricity [7].
MFCs provide opportunity for sustainable production of
Abstract: Proton exchange membranes (PEMs), used as
energy from biodegradable and renewable sources [7, 8].
separators, are one of the important components in micro-
This is a widely studied fuel cell due to its simple opera-
bial fuel cells (MFCs). The efficiency of MFC is greatly
tion, low maintenance, high energy density and low cost.
influenced by PEM. Nafion, which is a commonly used
This type of cell has simultaneous applications in the
membrane, has several disadvantages in addition to its
treatment of wastewater and energy recovery [9, 10]. One
high cost. The aim of the present work was to develop low-
of the vital components of any MFC is its proton exchange
cost PEMs with higher conductivity. In the current work,
membrane (PEM), which must possess properties like
membranes were prepared using comparatively cheaper
high energy density, leak proof, high electrical conductiv-
material polyvinyl chloride with different concentrations
ity and thermal stability [11, 12].
of silica (SiO2), citric acid and phosphotungstic acid (PWA)
Polymeric PEMs have been receiving a great deal of
by the solution casting method. Different membrane prop-
attention due to their possible applications in various
erties such as surface morphology, water uptake capacity,
electrochemical devices [13–15]. The best example
ion exchange capacity (IEC), tensile strength, leaching test
is Nafion, which has excellent proton conductivity
and potential applications in MFCs were investigated. The
(0.017  S cm−1) but is expensive and has certain issues
results showed that the prepared membrane with 10% silica
related with its operation at high temperature [16–18].
has the highest water uptake of 55.8%. The IEC of prepared
This prompted the interest in developing low-cost,
membranes was found to vary from 0.024 to 0.875 meq/g.
thermally and chemically stable PEM for applications
The membranes showing better IEC were applied to the
in storage devices like fuel cells and batteries. In order
MFC. The maximum power density obtained was 43.91 m
to overcome the shortcomings of existing membranes
W/cm2 in the case of a membrane with both 5% PWA and
without compromising conductivity (efficiency), the
5% silica. The results obtained make this membrane a
present work is focused on the synthesis and evaluation
promising and economically viable new material in MFC
of a new PEM using the low-cost material polyvinyl chlo-
applications.
ride (PVC). PVC is widely used for membrane preparation
Keywords: ion exchange capacity; microbial fuel cell; due to its mechanical stability and flexibility [19–22]. The
proton exchange membrane; PVC. widespread use of PVC is attributed mainly to the pres-
ence of lone pair electrons at the chlorine atom where
inorganic salts can be solvated and the dipole-dipole

1 Introduction interaction between the hydrogen and chlorine atoms

Alternative sources of energy are always an important
area of research due to the increasing global energy crisis
[1–4]. Fuel cells have emerged as one of the promising
*Corresponding author: Richa Srivastava, Department of Applied
Chemistry, Delhi Technological University, Delhi 110042, India,
e-mail: richa.dtu@gmail.com
Kumar Gaurav: Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University
Haryana, Gurugram 122413, India
Ram Singh and Brajesh Kumar Tiwari: Department of Applied
Chemistry, Delhi Technological University, Delhi 110042, India
can stiffen the polymer backbone [23]. Previously PVC-
based polymer electrolytes could not be made success-
fully, but this problem was overcome by preparing the
membrane using the solution casting method [24]. The
thermodynamic and mechanical stability of polymer
hybrid membranes is known to be better than that of pure
polymers [25–28]. Incorporation of inorganic additives
results into improved membrane properties by utilizing
the specific properties of fillers [29–31]. Silica, citric acid
and phosphotungstic acid (PWA) are used as dopants to
the polymeric materials for improving properties of the
membrane in the present work.
 K. Gaurav et al.: Novel proton exchange membranes based on PVC      361

2 Materials and methods 8

Amount of PWA leached out (mg)

2.1 Experimental material 6

5
Silica, citric acid and DMF were purchased from Merck,
4
Mumbai, India and were of analytical grade and used
without further purifications. PWA (H3PW12O40 · nH2O) 3

and PVC (Mol Wt ~48,000) were purchased from Sigma, 2

Membrane K with 1% PWA
Membrane L with 3% PWA
USA. De-ionized water was used for all the experiments Membrane M with 5% PWA

1
performed.
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (h)
2.2 Membrane preparation
Figure 1: Amount of PWA leached out.

The polymeric films of pure PVC and different com-

positions of PVC complexed with silica, citric acid
and PWA were prepared in various weight percent
ratios by solution casting method using dimethyl-
formamide (DMF) as a solvent. The preparation was
preceded by dissolving PVC resin into DMF and stir-
ring until a homogenous solution is obtained. This
was followed by dispersing a predetermined amount
of silica (1, 2, 5 and 10%, w/w), citric acid (10 and
20%, v/w) and PWA acid (1, 3 and 5%, w/w) (Table 1)
to the PVC solution with constant stirring at room tem-
perature (40°C) which continued for 1  h. The solution
was then allowed to cool below room temperature (20°C)
for 6 h, so as to form the gel, and then cast onto polypro-
pylene dishes. The solvent was evaporated by keeping
the dishes in an oven at a temperature of 50°C for 1 day
followed by 4 days at room temperature.
2.2.1 L eaching test of PWA from polymeric membranes
for samples J to M
A sample of the synthesized membrane containing PWA
(2 × 2 cm) was immersed in 100 ml of water, and the concen-
tration of PWA in water was determined at a regular interval
using a UV-visible spectrophotometer (Agilent Technologies,
Double Beam, Cary 300 UV-Vis), taking absorbance meas-
urements at 292  nm. A calibration curve relating the PWA
concentration to absorbance at 292 nm was used to calculate
the PWA concentration in the aqueous phase (Figure 1).
2.3 Membrane characterization
2.3.1 Morphological studies

Surface morphologies of the prepared membranes (or

Table 1: The various combinations of samples prepared using polymeric films) were investigated by scanning electron
PVC (2 g). microscopy (SEM) (Figure 2).

Serial   Sample   SiO2  Citric acid  PWA

no. no. (w/w) % (v/w) (w/w) %
2.3.2 Tensile strength
1   A   –  –  –
2   B   1  –  – Mechanical stability of membrane M and Nafion was
3   C   2  –  – determined by using an Instron Universal Materials
4   D   5  –  –
Testing System (model 3369) (Figure 3).
5   E   10  –  –
6   F   5  10  –
7   G   10  10  –
8   H   5  20  – 2.3.3 Water uptake analysis
9   I   10  20  –
10   J   –  –  1 The water uptake analysis was carried out by taking the
11   K   5  –  1 dry and wet weight ratio of the prepared membranes.
12   L   5  –  3
First, the weights of the dry membranes were taken. Then,
13   M   5  –  5
the membranes were immersed for 24 h in a glass beaker
 362      K. Gaurav et al.: Novel proton exchange membranes based on PVC

Figure 2: SEM of synthesized membranes. (A, B) Pure PVC, (C, D) PVC +10% silica, (E, F) PVC +5% silica +5% PWA.

A 80

30 70
Tensile stress (MPa)

20 60
Water uptake (%)

50
10
40
0
30
–1 0 5 10 15 20
Strain (min) 20
B 70
10
60
Tensile stress (MPa)

50 0
40 A B C D E F G H I J K L M
30 Membrane
20
10 Figure 4: Water uptake of prepared membranes.
0
–10
–1 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 where Ww is the weight after immersing the samples in
Strain (min)
water and Wd is the dry weight, respectively. The results
Figure 3: Tensile test for Nafion 117 and membrane M. Tensile test are reported in Figure 4.
for (A) Nafion-117 and (B) membrane M.

(100  ml) with distilled water (50  ml) at room tempera-
ture. The samples were taken out and surface water was
removed with absorbent paper to obtain the wet weight.
The percentage of water uptake was calculated by the fol-
lowing equation [32]:
Water uptake (%) = (Ww − Wd / Wd ) × 100
2.3.4 Ion exchange capacity (IEC)
The IEC of the prepared membranes was evaluated using
titration. The membranes were converted to their protonic
form by immersing in a 1 m HCl solution for 24  h, and
then the membranes were washed with distilled water to
remove excess acid. Subsequently, the membranes were
 K. Gaurav et al.: Novel proton exchange membranes based on PVC      363

1 180
0.9 Membrane M
160 Membrane L
Membrane F
Ion exchange capacity (meq/g)

0.8 Membrane K
140
0.7
0.6 120

Voltage (mV)
0.5 100
0.4 80
0.3
60
0.2
0.1 40

0 20
A B C D E F G H I J K L M
Membrane 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (h)
Figure 5: IEC of prepared membranes.
Figure 6: Combined OCV curve of selected prepared membranes
placed in a 0.1 m NaCl solution for 24 h, and then the solu- applied in MFCs.
tion was titrated with 0.01 m NaOH. The IEC was calcu-
lated using the following equation [33]:
2.4.2.2 Anolyte composition
IEC ( mequiv / g dry membrane) = VNaOH × Conc. of NaOH / m The anode compartment was filled with medium contain-
ing NaCl (10 g/l), tryptone (10 g/l), yeast extract (5 g/l),
where m is the mass (g) of dry membrane. The results are glucose (100 g/l) and cysteine (0.75 g/l).
given in Figure 5.

2.4.2.3 Catholyte composition

2.4 A
 pplication in MFC The cathode compartments were filled with an equivalent
amount of distilled water with electrodes dipped in them.
2.4.1 Bacterial culture for MFC

2.4.2.4 Recording of data

The bacterial species Alcaligens faecalis NCIM 2949  was
The multimeter (UNI-T) was used to get the readings at the
obtained from the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune.
1-h interval, and the voltage and current were recorded in
The bacteria was incubated in Luria-Bertani medium con-
units of mV and mA, respectively. The power density was
taining tryptone (10 g/l), yeast extract (5 g/l) and NaCl
calculated by using the equation
(10  g/l). The pH of the medium was 7.0–7.5. Cells were
grown at 37°C for 18 h at 200 rpm. P = (V × I ) / A

where V is the observed voltage, I is the observed current

2.4.2 MFC construction
2.4.2.1 Two chambers with membrane
The setup consisted of two ARISTO airtight plastic con-
tainers (1500 ml) with holes of 1-inch diameter cut in the
center of their broader face. The chambers were connected
by an arrangement of PVC pipes (9-inch length). Synthe-
sised membranes were inserted into the union by easy dis-
sembling of union. Anode (graphite) and cathode (copper)
were inserted into the chamber by making the required
holes in the cover of the airtight containers. The electrodes
were connected with an aluminum wire (16.54 × 10−4 Ω).
The wires were than attached to the two electrodes of the
multimeter (UNI-T) with an electrical tape (Steel Grip). All
the vacant surfaces were sealed using M-Seal (PIDLITE) to
make the anode chamber completely anaerobic.
and A is the area of electrode dipped in the medium
(5.91 cm2). The results are given in Figures 6–8.
3 Results and discussion
PVC was chosen as the host polymer due to its inexpen-
sive and easy availability. Also, PVC is compatible with
a large number of plasticizers. The film was produced
by the solution casting method, and the resulting film
bears good mechanical strength. PVC is a water-insoluble
polymer, and the literature survey reveals that its water
uptake properties are increased by the addition of SiO2
[34–37]. PWA, a heteropolyacid (HPA), was chosen as
a proton conducting phase as HPA shows very strong
Brønsted acidity as solid electrolyte, exceeding that of
 364      K. Gaurav et al.: Novel proton exchange membranes based on PVC

A 35 B 50

30 40
25

Voltage (mV)
Voltage (mV)

30
20

15 20

10
10
5

0 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
Current (mA) Current (mA)
C160 D
160
140
120
120
Voltage (mV)

Voltage (mV)
100
80 80
60
40 40
20
0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 2.0
Current (mA) Current (mA)

Figure 7: Polarization curve of selected prepared membranes applied in MFC. Polarization curves of (A) membrane F, (B) membrane K, (C)
membrane L and (D) membrane M.

A 0.25
B
4.0

3.5
0.2
Power density (mW/cm2)

Power density (mW/cm2)

3.0

0.15 2.5

2.0
0.1
1.5

1.0
0.05
0.5

0 0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8
Current (mA) Current (mA)
C D 50
25

40
Power density (mW/cm2)
Power density (mW/cm2)

20

30
15

10 20

5 10

0 0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
Current (mA) Current (mA)

Figure 8: Power density curve of selected prepared membranes applied in MFC. Power density curves of (A) membrane F, (B) membrane K,
(C) membrane L and (D) membrane M.

conventional solid acids. PWA has high proton conductiv- 3.1 L eaching of PWA from polymeric
ity (0.02–0.1 S cm−1) at room temperature and is thermally membrane
stable at higher temperatures [38]. The detailed studies of
synthesized membranes have been discussed in the fol- Three membranes (K, L and M) containing different
lowing sections. amounts of PWA (1, 3 and 5%, w/w, respectively) were
 K. Gaurav et al.: Novel proton exchange membranes based on PVC      365
subjected to the leaching test to determine the amount of
PWA coming out of the membrane. The amounts of PWA
leached out at different time periods are shown in Figure
1. The graph shows that the amount of PWA leached out
of the membrane increased linearly with time until 16 h,
and thereafter no significant leaching was observed. The
results show that the amount of PWA left in the mem-
branes was sufficient to provide the enhanced conductiv-
ity of membranes.
3.2 Membrane morphology
The membranes are characterized by SEM. Figure 2A–F
presents the morphologies of the representative mem-
branes at 2500 magnitudes. SEM micrographs of the three
samples – PVC, PVC and silica and PVC, silica and PWA
– are shown in Figure 2A–F. In Figure 2A and B, a layered
structural characteristic of PVC can be identified, and a
smooth and crack-free surface is seen clearly. The images
in Figure 2C and D show the morphology of the PVC con-
taining 10% silica where the individual particles of the
silica can be seen, resulting in a granular morphology,
which is homogenously distributed all over the surface.
The average size of the granules is 6–8 μm. In Figure 2E
and F, the morphology of the PVC membrane along with
silica and PWA is shown, which has a homogenously dis-
tributed surface.
3.3 Tensile test
All the prepared membranes contain PVC (2 g), and the
mechanical strength of the membrane is due to the PVC
matrix. So, the tensile test of membrane M (membrane
showing better IEC) and Nafion was carried out. Figure 3
shows the stress – strain curves of the synthesized mem-
brane M and Nafion-117 in the dry state. The synthesized
membrane M showed high tensile strength (62  MPa)
as compared to Nafion-117 (29  MPa). The higher tensile
strength is attributed to the presence of the PVC matrix.
3.4 Water uptake
Water uptake capacity of the prepared membranes is
shown in Figure 4. The water uptake of pure PVC is low
(4.02%) as compared to those of all the prepared mem-
branes. This is due to the strong hydrophobic charac-
ter of the groups present there. Meanwhile, the water
uptake is observed to increase steadily with the increase
in concentration of SiO2, due to the formation of Si-OH
bonds, which promotes water retention. Out of the four
membranes (membranes B–E) where varying % of SiO2
was introduced, 10% showed a maximum water uptake
of 55.8% (membrane E), with comparable water uptake of
46.6% (membrane D) at 5%. Therefore, these two concen-
trations were further used for preparing other membranes.
This is also supported by the literature where water uptake
increases with an increase in the % of SiO2 [39].
Further, when citric acid was used (membranes F–I),
water uptake reduces as compared to that of SiO2. It shows
that the citric acid molecules are chemically bonded to
the host polymer, leading to increased cross-linking and
reduction in water uptake [40]. Upon the addition of
PWA, water uptake increases. This was an expected result
since PWA is hydrophilic; therefore, water uptake should
increase with an increase in PWA wt% [41, 42].
3.5 Ion exchange capacity
IEC is an important parameter for PEMs. A high IEC is
required to ensure high proton conductivity. The results of
the IEC are shown in Figure 5. The IEC of the membranes
with varying percentage of silica (membranes B to E) are
somewhat better than that of virgin membrane A. This is
also supported by the literature where the introduction
of SiO2 improved the ionic conductivity of membranes at
room temperature [43]. The IEC values of the PWA-doped-
PVC system vary from 0.63 to 0.875 meq/g. It can be seen
that IEC increases almost linearly with PWA doping.
Increase in IEC with PWA content is an expected trend
since PWA acts as the proton source here. The maximum
IEC value of 0.875 meq/g is obtained with 5% PWA (w/w)
but is lower than that of Nafion-117 (0.98 meq/g) [44].
3.6 Fuel cell analysis
3.6.1 Performance of prepared membranes in MFC
The effect of a PEM on an MFC’s performance is com-
monly determined according to generated power density.
The membranes showing better IEC (membranes F, K, L
and M) were selected for an MFC setup. Membrane F was
preferred over J, as J does not contain SiO2. Open circuit
voltage (OCV) curve, polarization curve and power density
curve were then plotted for each run. The combined OCV
curve of all the membranes is shown in Figure 6. In all the
four membranes, voltage gets stabilized after 22  h. The
maximum voltage achieved was found to be 165.2 mV in
366      K. Gaurav et al.: Novel proton exchange membranes based on PVC
the case of membrane M, followed by 140.1 (membrane L),
46.5 (membrane K) and 29.1 (membrane F).
The polarization curve was obtained by plotting
the  voltage (mV) vs. current (mA). Figure 7A–D shows
the  polarization curve of the different membranes
within  the MFC systems. The polarization curve was
mostly used to find the internal resistance of the system.
The internal resistance can be calculated by the slope of
the I-V curve. From the polarization curves, it is clear that
membrane M shows a better I-V relationship.
3.6.2 C
 alculation of power density
The power density for each run was calculated by using
the following formula:
Power density = (V × I ) / A
where V is the observed voltage, I is the observed current
and A is the area of electrode dipped in the medium.
The maximum power densities obtained were 44 mW/
cm2 in the case of membrane M (with 5% silica and 5%
PWA) and 21 mW/cm2 in the case of membrane L (with 5%
silica and 3% PWA) (Figure 8). Nafion-117 membrane has,
until now, been used as a source of PEM connecting the
anode and cathode chambers in a two-chamber system.
Here, we have obtained a good amount of power density
using a newly synthesized polymer membrane.
4 Conclusion
In the present work, various membranes were prepared
by using the PVC polymer, which was modified by using
different concentrations of dopants such as silica, citric
acid and PWA acid, and their corresponding water uptake
was studied. The introduction of the inorganic load was
favorable for the adsorption of water due to the hygro-
scopic nature of the silica gel, and it also improves the
ionic conductivity of polymer electrolytes by affecting the
crystallinity of the host polymer. However, excessive silica
amounts can cause agglomeration of the particles, affect-
ing the mechanical properties due to the lack of homoge-
nization inside the material. To increase the conductivity,
citric acids and PWA, an HPA, have been used here. The
water uptake percentage and the IEC of the resulting mem-
branes were also found to increase with increasing con-
centration. For fuel cell usage, the OCV curve, polarization
curve and power density curve were plotted to check the
efficiency of the membranes. The power density obtained
in the case of these membranes as PEMs showed encour-
aging results. This work ultimately results into developing
membranes using easily available and low-cost materials,
resulting in cost reduction. On the basis of power density
vs. time plots of the MFC configurations set up by us, we
conclude that some of the prepared membranes used are
very efficient when the factor of highest power density is
considered.
Low-cost, stable membranes with high ionic conduc-
tivity are required for the widespread adoption of polymer
electrolyte membrane for application in fuel cells. The
present work is an effort in this direction.
Acknowledgments: We thank the thin film and materials
lab and the polymer processing lab, Delhi Technologi-
cal University for providing instrumental facility to carry
out the morphological and tensile studies of prepared
membranes.
References
[1] Heinberg R, Fridley D. Nature 2010, 468, 367–369.
[2] Kinkus J. Ref. Revi. 2009, 23, 42–43.
[3] Balat M. Int. J. Green Energy 2008, 5, 212–3833.
[4] Gaurav K, Srivastava R, Singh R. Int. J. Green Energy 2013, 10,
775–796.
[5] Zhang L, Chae SR, Hendren Z, Park JS, Wiesner MR. Chem. Eng.
J. 2012, 204–206, 87–97.
[6] Liu H, Logan BE. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2004, 38, 4040–
4046.
[7] Jafary T, Rahimnejad M, Ghoreyshi AA, Najafpour G, Hghparast
F, Daud WRW. Energy Convers. Manage. 2013, 75, 256–262.
[8] Sevda S, Sreekrishnan TR. J. Envi. Sci. Health A 2012, 47,
878–886.
[9] Pant D, Bogaert GV, Diels L, Vanbroekhoven K. Biores. Technol.
2010, 101, 1533–1543.
[10] Liu H, Ramnarayanan R, Logan BE. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2004,
38, 2281–2285.
[11] Bhide A, Hariharan K. J. Power Sources 2006, 159, 1450–1457.
[12] Li G, Xie J, Cai H, Qiao J. Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 2014, 39,
2639–2648.
[13] Hickner MA, Ghassemi H, Kim YS, Einsla BR, McGrath JE.
Chem. Rev. 2004, 104, 4587–4612.
[14] Li Q, He R, Jensen JO, Bjerrum NJ. Chem. Mater. 2003, 15,
4896–4915.
[15] Rozière J, Jones DJ. Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 2003, 33, 503–555.
[16] Kreuer KD. J. Membr. Sci. 2001, 185, 29–39.
[17] Mauritz KA, Moore RB. Chem Rev. 2004, 104, 4535–4586.
[18] Collier A, Wang H, Yuan XZ, Zhang J, Wilkinson DP. Int. J.
Hydrog. Energy 2006, 31, 1838–1854.
[19] Hosseini SM, Askari M, Koranian P, Madaeni SS, Moghadassi
AR. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 2014, 20, 2510–2520.
[20] Hosseini SM, Madaeni SS, Zendehnam A, Moghadassi AR,
Khodabakhshi AR, Sanaeepur H. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 2013, 19,
854–862.
 K. Gaurav et al.: Novel proton exchange membranes based on PVC      367
[21] Hosseini SM, Madaeni SS, Heidari AR, Amirimehr A. Desalina-
tion 2012, 284, 191–199.
[22] Akli K, Khoiruddin K, Wenten IG. J. Membr. Sci. Res. 2016, 2,
141–146.
[23] Ramesh S, Teh GB, Louh RF, Hou YK, Sin PY, Yi LJ. Sadhna 2010,
35, 87–95.
[24] Rajendran S, Babu RS, Devi KR. Ionics 2009, 15, 61–66.
[25] Rana D, Mandal BM, Bhattacharyya SN. Macromolecules 1996,
29, 1579–1583.
[26] Rana D, Bag K, Bhattacharyya SN, Mandal BM. J. Polym. Sci.
Polym. Phys. Ed. 2000, 38, 369–375.
[27] Marani D, Di Vona ML, Traversa E, Licoccia S, Beurroies I,
Liewellyn PL, Knauth P. J. Phys. Chem. B, 2006, 110, 15817–15823.
[28] Arsalan M, Khan MMA, Rafiuddin. Desalin. Water Treat. 2015,
56, 1737–1745.
[29] Unveren EE, Erdogan T, Çelebi SS, Inan TY. Int. J. Hydrog. Energy
2010, 35, 3736–3744.
[30] Woo JJ, Seo SJ, Yun SH, Fu RQ, Yang TH, Moon SH. J. Membr. Sci.
2010, 363, 80–86.
[31] Jon N, Samad NAb, Abdullah NA, Abdullah I, Othaman R. J. App.
Poly. Sci. 2013, 129, 2789–2795.
[32] Wang J, Jiang S, Zhang H, Lv W, Yang X, Jiang Z. J. Membr. Sci.
2010, 364, 253–262.
[33] Zaidi SMJ. Arabian J. Sci. Eng. 2003, 28, 183–194.
[34] Sukeshini AM, Nishimoto A, Watanabe M. Solid State Ion.
1996, 86–88, 385–393.
[35] Rajendran S, Uma T. Ionics 2001, 7, 122–125.
[36] Rajendran S, Babu RS, Sivakumar P. J. Membr. Sci. 2008, 315,
67–73.
[37] Subban RHY, Arof AK. Euro. Poly. J. 2004, 40, 1841–1847.
[38] Mioč U, Davidovič M, Tjapkin N, Colomban P, Novak A. Solid
State Ion. 1991, 46, 103–109.
[39] Sethupathy M, Sethuraman V, Manisankar P. Soft Nanosc. Lett.
2013, 3, 37–43.
[40] Izhar SMM, Shaari KZK, Man Z, Samsudin YN. App. Mech. and
Mate. 2014, 625, 123–126.
[41] Li L, Wang Y. Chin. J. Chem. Eng. 2002, 10, 614–617.
[42] Li L, Xu L, Wang Y. Mate. Lett. 2003, 57, 1406–1410.
[43] Xu W, Liu C, Xue X, Su Y, Lv Y, Xing W, Lu T. Solid State Ion.
2004, 171, 121–127.
[44] Lin CW, Thangamuthu R, Yang CJ. J. Membr. Sci. 2005, 253,
23–31.