INVESTIGATION OF SOLID BIO-MEMBRANE BASED ON CORN BIOMASS AS A PROTON-CONDUCTING BIO-ELECTROLYTE

Abstract

A solid bio-electrolyte has been prepared by blending the extract of the silk part of the corn biomass (corn silk extract, CSE), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and NH4HCO2 as the charge carrier via the solution casting technique. This biodegradable electrolyte is optimized by the AC impedance analysis for the composition 1 g PVA + 0.9 g CSE + 0.5 wt% NH4HCO2 from their maximum conductivity values. The highest ionic conductivity for this optimized composition at room temperature is 3.302×10–3 S cm–1. This bio-electrolyte is then characterized by X-ray diffraction technique, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, transference number analysis and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A primary proton-conducting battery was constructed with an output circuit voltage of 1.83 V at room temperature. A single stack PEM fuel cell has been constructed with the bio-electrolyte (0.9 g CSE + 1 g PVA + 0.5 wt% NH4HCO2) and obtained an output circuit of 480 mV. This work implies the possibility of the development of an electrolyte from a biodegradable and renewable source for energy storage applications.