Preparation of Organic-Inorganic Composite Electrolyte Membrane for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

A composite membrane consisting of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous silica and ion exchange gel polymer electrolyte was successfully prepared in this study. Firstly, the macroporous silica was prepared by a filtration of a mixed suspension of colloidal silica and monodispersed polystyrene beads followed by a heat treatment. Then, a gel electrolyte was injected into pores to form the composite membrane. The obtained membrane had 1.7 cm in a diameter and exhibited 1 × 10−4 S cm−1 ion conductivity at 40°C under 80% humidity. This low conductivity of the composite membrane may be strongly related to a skin layer of the prepared composite membrane.