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Analysis of institutional authors

Herranz DAuthorEscudero-Cid RAuthorPalacio CAuthorOcon PAuthor

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Application of crosslinked polybenzimidazole-poly(Vinyl benzyl chloride) anion exchange membranes in direct ethanol fuel cells

Publicated to:Membranes. 10 (11): 1-19 - 2020-11-01 10(11), DOI: 10.3390/membranes10110349

Authors: Herranz, Daniel; Coppola, Roxana E; Escudero-Cid, Ricardo; Ochoa-Romero, Kerly; D'Accorso, Norma B; Perez-Flores, Juan Carlos; Canales-Vazquez, Jesus; Palacio, Carlos; Abuin, Graciela C; Ocon, Pilar

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Abstract

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Crosslinked membranes have been synthesized by a casting process using polybenzimidazole (PBI) and poly(vinyl benzyl chloride) (PVBC). The membranes were quaternized with 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) to obtain fixed positive quaternary ammonium groups. XPS analysis has showed insights into the changes from crosslinked to quaternized membranes, demonstrating that the crosslinking reaction and the incorporation of DABCO have occurred, while the13C-NMR corroborates the reaction of DABCO with PVBC only by one nitrogen atom. Mechanical properties were evaluated, obtaining maximum stress values around 72 MPa and 40 MPa for crosslinked and quaternized membranes, respectively. Resistance to oxidative media was also satisfactory and the membranes were evaluated in single direct ethanol fuel cell. PBI-c-PVBC/OH 1:2 membrane obtained 66 mW cm−2 peak power density, 25% higher than commercial PBI membranes, using 0.5 bar backpressure of pure O2 in the cathode and 1 mL min−1 KOH 2M EtOH 2 M aqueous solution in the anode. When the pressure was increased, the best performance was obtained by the same membrane, reaching 70 mW cm−2 peak power density at 2 bar O2 backpressure. Based on the characterization and single cell performance, PBI-c-PVBC/OH membranes are considered promising candidates as anion exchange electrolytes for direct ethanol fuel cells.

Keywords

anion exchange membranecrosslinkeddirect ethanolfuel cellpoly(vinylbenzyl chloride)polybenzimidazolequaternizedAnion exchange membraneCrosslinkedDirect ethanolFuel cellHigh-performancePolybenzimidazoleQuaternized

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Membranes due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position 21/88, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Polymer Science.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from the Field Citation Ratio (FCR) of the Dimensions source, it yields a value of: 1.36, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: Dimensions May 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-05-29, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 12
  • Scopus: 15
  • Europe PMC: 4
  • OpenCitations: 13

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-05-29:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 35.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 35 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 1.25.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 2 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Argentina.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (HERRANZ GONZALEZ, DANIEL) and Last Author (OCON ESTEBAN, PILAR).