Novel polyaromatic ionomers with large hydrophilic domain and long hydrophobic chain targeting at highly proton conductive and stable membranes
Dongyang Chen,Shuanjin Wang,Min Xiao,Yuezhong Meng,Allan S. Hay
Journal of Materials Chemistry Pub Date : 07/07/2011 00:00:00 , DOI:10.1039/C1JM10950B
Abstract

A novel dihydroxyl monomer bearing 18 electron rich phenyl rings were synthesized and polymerized with other monomers bearing electron deficient phenyl rings to give dense and selective sites in macromolecules for post-sulfonation, which was successfully conducted in ClSO3H/CH2Cl2 solution at room temperature in a subsequential step. The chemical structures were confirmed by 1H NMR and FT-IR spectra. The ionic exchange capacity (IEC) was controlled to be from 0.65 to 1.21 mequiv g−1 to afford considerable proton conductivity. Distinct phase separation was observed in the resulting membranes from SAXS profiles. The SPAEK-5 with an IEC of 1.21 mequiv g−1 gave better proton conductivity than Nafion 117 at all tested temperatures under 100% relative humidity. The membranes exhibited an exceeding stability when immersing in Fenton's reagent (3 wt.% H2O2 + 2 ppm FeSO4) at 80 °C. These properties make them promising candidates for electrochemical applications.

Graphical abstract: Novel polyaromatic ionomers with large hydrophilic domain and long hydrophobic chain targeting at highly proton conductive and stable membranes