Synthesis and characterization of a novel crosslinkable side-chain sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymer proton exchange membranes |
| |
Authors: | Shouping Wang Fugang He Qiang Weng Diao Yuan Pei Chen Xinbing Chen Zhongwei An |
| |
Institution: | Key Laboratory of Applied Surface and Colloid Chemistry (MOE), Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Advanced Energy Devices, Shaanxi Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Energy Technology, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi''an 710119 PR China, |
| |
Abstract: | A series of novel crosslinkable side-chain sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymers (S-SPAES(x/y)) was prepared from 4,4′-biphenol, 4,4′-difluorodiphenyl sulfone, and a new difluoro aromatic monomer 1-(2,6-difluorophenyl)-2-(3,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-1,2-ethanedione (DFDMED) via co-polycondensation, demethylation, and further nucleophilic substitution of 1,4-butane sultone. Meanwhile, quinoxaline-based crosslinked copolymers (CS-SPAES(x/y)) were obtained via cyclo-condensation between S-SPAES(x/y) and 3,3′-diaminobenzidine. Both the crosslinkable and crosslinked copolymer membranes exhibit good mechanical properties and high anisotropic membrane swelling. Crosslinkable S-SPAES(1/2) with an ion exchange capacity (IEC) of 2.01 mequiv. g−1 displays a relatively high proton conductivity of 180 mS cm−1 and acceptable single-cell performance, which is attributed to its good microphase separation resulting from the side-chain sulfonated copolymer structures. Compared with S-SPAES(1/1) (IEC of 1.68 mequiv. g−1), crosslinked CS-SPAES(1/2) with a comparable IEC exhibits a larger conductivity of 157 mS cm−1, and significantly higher oxidative stability and lower membrane swelling, suggesting a distinct performance improvement due to the quinoxaline-based crosslinking.A series of novel crosslinkable and crosslinked side-chain SPAES has been prepared. The S-SPAES(1/2) has high proton conductivity and acceptable single-cell performance. |
| |
Keywords: | |
|
|