Polymer electrolyte membranes based on polystyrenes with phosphonic acid via long alkyl side chains

A series of polystyrenes with phosphonic acid ( 5 ) via long alkyl side chains (4, 6, and 8 methylene units) were prepared by the radical polymerization of the corresponding diethyl ω‐(4‐vinylphenoxy)alkylphosphonates, followed by the hydrolysis with trimethylsilyl bromide. The resulting phosphonated polystyrene membranes had a high oxidative stability against Fenton's reagent at room temperature. The membranes prepared from 5 exhibited a very low water uptake, similar to that of Nafion 117 over the wide range of 30 to 80% relative humidity (RH). The proton conductivities of these membranes are lower than that of Nafion 117 in the range of 30 to 90% RH, but comparable or higher than those of the reported phosphonated polymers with higher IEC values, such as the phosphonated poly(N‐phenylacrylamide) (PDPAA, IEC: 6.72 mequiv/g) and fluorinated polymers with pendant phosphonic acids (M47, IEC: 8.5 mequiv/g), at low RH conditions despite the much lower IEC values (3.0–3.8 mequiv/g) of these membranes. These results suggest that the flexible pendant side chains of 5 would contribute to the formation of hydrogen‐bonding networks by considering the very low water uptake of these polymers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Brønsted acid-base polymer electrolyte membrane based on sulfonated poly(phenylene oxide) and imidazole

The Brønsted acid-base polymer electrolyte membrane was prepared by entrapping imidazole in sulfonated poly(phenylene oxide) at the molar ratio of Im/SPPO = 2:1. The hybrid showed a high thermal stability up to 200 °C and peroxide tolerance. Differential scanning calorimetry shows that glass transition temperature is 232 °C. The conductivity increases with temperature exceeding 10⁻³ S/cm above 120 °C and a high conductivity of 6.9 × 10⁻³ S/cm was obtained at 200 °C under 33% RH conditions.     

Alkaline stability of poly(phenylene)-based anion exchange membranes with various cations

Anion exchange membranes comprised of a poly(phenylene) backbone and one of five different cationic head-groups are prepared, briefly characterized, and tested for stability in 4 M KOH at 90 °C. The two membranes with resonance-stabilized cations (benzyl pentamethylguanidinium and benzyl N-methylimidazolium) show large (>25%) decreases in both conductivity and ion exchange capacity (IEC) after just one day of testing. The membrane with benzyl trimethylammonium cations shows a 33% loss of conductivity (14% decrease in IEC) after 14 days while the membrane with trimethylammonium cations attached by a hexamethylene spacer shows the least degradation: a 5% loss of conductivity over 14 days with no accompanying loss in IEC. A similar membrane which has a six-carbon spacer and a ketone adjacent to the phenyl ring shows much lower stability, suggesting that the ketone takes part in degradation reactions. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2013, 51, 1736–1742, 2013     

Highly conductive and stable anion-exchange membranes based on crosslinked poly(arylene ether sulfone)-block-poly(phenylene oxide) Networks

In the field of the developments of next-generation polymer electrolyte membranes, high conductivity is often regarded as the first important performance requirement. There is still a huge challenge to face, which is hard to achieve the balance between high ion conductivity (mainly related to ion-exchange capacity [IEC]) and good mechanical-dimensional stability (represented by swelling ratio [SR]). Here, a family of crosslinked block polyelectrolytes consisting of hydrophobic rigid poly(arylene ether sulfone) segments to ensure enough dimensional stability and hydrophilic poly(phenylene oxide) segments bearing long-flexible chains with high-density multications to serve as crosslinker and carrier for ion transport are prepared. The polyelectrolyte with an IEC of 3.04 mmol g⁻¹ exhibits a high hydroxide conductivity of 126 mS cm⁻¹ and a low SR of 8.6% at 80 °C. No obvious degradation below 200 °C is observed, and maximum tensile strength reaches 28.4 MPa. As a conclusion, these crosslinked membranes based on well-designed block polyelectrolytes exhibit an excellent combination of high ion conductivity and good mechanical-dimensional stability to meet the performance requirements for the application of anion-exchange membranes. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 58, 391–401     

Synthesis of sulfonated poly(imidoaryl ether sulfone) membranes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

New sulfonated poly(imidoaryl ether sulfone) copolymers derived from sulfonated 4,4′‐dichlorodiphenyl sulfone, 4,4′‐dichlorodiphenyl sulfone, and imidoaryl biphenol were evaluated as polymer electrolyte membranes for direct methanol fuel cells. The sulfonated membranes were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The state of water in the membranes was measured with differential scanning calorimetry, and the existence of free water and bound water was discussed in terms of the sulfonation level. The 10 wt % weight loss temperatures of these copolymers were above 470 °C, indicating excellent thermooxidative stability to meet the severe criteria of harsh fuel‐cell conditions. The proton conductivities of the membranes ranged from 3.8 × 10^?2 to 5 × 10^?2 S/cm at 90 °C, depending on the degree of sulfonation. The sulfonated membranes maintained the original proton conductivity even after a boiling water test, and this indicated the excellent hydrolytic stability of the membranes. The methanol permeabilities ranged from 1.65 × 10^?8 to 5.14 × 10^?8 cm²/s and were lower than those of other conventional sulfonated ionomer membranes, particularly commercial perfluorinated sulfonated ionomer (Nafion). The properties of proton and methanol transport were discussed with respect to the state of water in the membranes. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5620–5631, 2005     

Poly(arylene ether ether nitrile)s containing flexible alkylsulfonated side chains for polymer electrolyte membranes

A series of poly(arylene ether ether nitrile)s with different chain lengths of the alkylsulfonates (SPAEEN‐x: x refers number of the methylene units) are successfully synthesized for fuel cell applications. The polymers produced flexible and transparent membranes by solvent casting. The resulting membranes display a high thermal stability, oxidative stability, and higher proton conductivity than that of Nafion 117 at 80 °C and 95% relative humidity (RH). Furthermore, the SPAEEN‐12 with the longest alkylsulfonated side chain exhibits a higher proton conductivity at 30% RH than that of SPAEEN‐6 despite the lower IEC value, which indicates that the introduction of longer alkylsufonated side chains to the polymer main chain induces an efficient proton conduction by the formation of a well‐developed phase‐separated morphology. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 21–29     

Multiblock poly(Phenylene ether nitrile)s with pendant sulfoalkoxyl side chain for H2/air fuel cells at low humidity condition

A series of multiblock poly(phenylene ether nitrile)s with pendant sulfoalkoxyl side chains have been developed as proton exchange membranes for fuel cells. The membranes were obtained by a solution casting method and exhibited good thermal stability, flexibility, and mechanical strength. The membranes displayed well‐developed microphase separation, which largely contributed to their excellent ion conduction ability. One of the new membranes with a low ion exchange capacity of 1.57 mequiv g^?1 showed higher proton conductivity than Nafion 212 over the entire RH range (30–95%). The maximum power output generated in a single cell test reached up to 0.754, 0.640, and 0.414 W cm^?2 at 70 °C under 80%, 50%, and 30% RH conditions, respectively. The current density of the membrane obtained at 0.6 V (I _0.6) was as high as 640 mA cm^?2, which was much higher than that of Nafion 212 (375 mA cm^?2 at 30% RH), suggesting its superiority for a more rapid system start‐up. Furthermore, the in situ durability test at 50% RH was performed at a constant current loading, and the membrane did not show any significant voltage reduction over the 400 h testing period. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55 , 1940–1948     

New poly(arylene ether)s with pendant phosphonic acid groups

Soluble brominated poly(arylene ether)s containing mono‐ or dibromotetraphenylphenylene ether and octafluorobiphenylene units were synthesized. The polymers were high molecular weight (weight‐average molecular weight = 115,100–191,300; number‐average molecular weight = 32,300–34,000) and had high glass‐transition temperatures (>279 °C) and decomposition temperatures (>472 °C). The brominated polymers were phosphonated with diethylphosphite by a palladium‐catalyzed reaction. Quantitative phosphonation was possible when 50 mol % of a catalyst based on bromine was used. The diethylphosphonated polymers were dealkylated by a reaction with bromotrimethylsilane in carbon tetrachloride followed by hydrolysis with hydrochloric acid. The polymers with pendant phosphonic acid groups were soluble in polar solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide and gave flexible and tough films via casting from solution. The polymers were hygroscopic and swelled in water. They did not decompose at temperatures of up to 260 °C under a nitrogen atmosphere. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3770–3779, 2001     

Preparation of electrolyte membranes for micro tubular solid oxide fuel cells

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) micro tubular electrolyte membranes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) were prepared via the combined wet phase inversion and sintering technique. The as-derived YSZ mi- cro tubes consist of a thin dense skin layer and a thick porous layer that can serve as the electrode of fuel cells. The dense and the porous electrolyte layers have the thickness of 3-5 μm and 70-90 μm, respectively, while the inner surface porosity of the porous layer is higher than 28.1%. The two layers are perfectly integrated together to preclude the crack or flake of electrolyte film from the electrode. The presented method possesses distinct advantages such as technological simplicity, low cost and high reliability, and thus provides a new route for the preparation of micro tubular SOFCs.     

The chemical behavior and degradation mitigation effect of cerium oxide nanoparticles in perfluorosulfonic acid polymer electrolyte membranes

Perfluorosulfonic acid membranes are susceptible to degradation during hydrogen fuel cell operation due to radical attack on the polymer chains. Mitigation of this attack by cerium-based radical scavengers is an approach that has shown promise. In this work, two formulations of crystalline cerium oxide nanoparticles, with an order of magnitude difference in particle size, are incorporated into said membranes and subjected to proton conductivity measurements and ex-situ durability tests. We found that ceria is reduced to Ce(III) ions in the acidic environment of a heated, humidified membrane which negatively impacts proton conductivity. In liquid and gas Fenton testing, fluoride emission is reduced by an order of magnitude, drastically increasing membrane longevity. Sideproduct analysis demonstrated that in the liquid Fenton test, the main point of attack is weak polymer end groups, while in the gas Fenton test, there is additional side-chain attack. Both mechanisms are mitigated by the addition of the ceria nanoparticles, whereby the extent of the concentration-dependent durability improvement is found to be independent of particle size.     

Modified poly(phenylene oxide) membranes for the separation of carbon dioxide from methane

Two types of poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) membranes were prepared: one by chemical modification through sulfonation using chlorosulfonic acid and another by physical incorporation with a heteropolyacid (HPA), viz., phosphotungstic acid. These membranes were tested for the separation of CO₂/CH₄ mixtures. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction techniques were used to confirm the modified structure of PPO as well as to understand its interactions with gaseous molecules. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the membrane morphology. Thermal stability of the modified polymers was assessed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), while the tensile strength was measured to evaluate their mechanical stability. Both chemical and physical modifications did not adversely affect the thermally and mechanical stabilities. Experiments with pure CO₂ and CH₄ gases showed that CO₂ selectivity (27.2) for SPPO increased by a factor of 2.2, while the PPO–HPA membrane exhibited 1.7 times increase in selectivity with a reasonable permeability of 28.2 Barrer. An increase in flux was observed for the binary CO₂/CH₄ mixture permeation with an increasing feed concentration (5–40 mol%) of CO₂. An enhancement in feed pressure from 5 to 40 kg/cm² resulted in reduced CO₂ permeability and selectivity due to the competitive sorption of methane. Both the modified PPO membranes were found to be promising for enrichment of methane despite exhibiting lower permeability values than the pristine PPO membrane.     

Preparation and characterization of sulfonated poly(phenylene oxide) proton exchange composite membrane doped with phosphosilicate gels

A new class of proton exchange composite membranes made by incorporating phosphosilicate gels into SPPO matrix was prepared and characterized. The thermal stability was evaluated by TGA and DSC, and the amorphous structure information was provided from XRD. The experimental results showed that the composite membranes have good stability to oxidation by Fenton's reagent test, and the membrane dimension is hardly changed, even at high temperature. The hydration number values of the persulfonic acid group of composite membranes were lower than that of Nafion 112 at room temperature, but the water uptake of composite membranes at 80°C was higher than that of Nafion 112. With increasing relative humidity and doping amount, the conductivity of the composite membranes increased. Moreover, the conductivities of water-equilibrated composite membranes were higher than that of Nafion 112 (0.0871 S/cm) at room temperature, and the highest conductivity for the composite membrane was 0.216 S/cm. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pervaporation of alcohol-toluene mixtures through polymer blend membranes of poly(acrylic acid) and poly(vinyl alcohol)

Homogeneous membranes were prepared by blending poly(acrylic acid) with poly(vinyl alcohol). These blend membranes were evaluated for the selective separation of alcohols from toluene by pervaporation. The flux and selectivity of the membranes were determined both as a function of the blend composition and of the feed mixture composition. The results showed that a polymer blending method could be very useful to develop new membranes with improved permselectivity. The pervaporation properties could be optimized by adjusting the blend composition. All the blend membranes tested showed a decrease in flux with increasing poly(vinyl alcohol) content for both methanol—toluene and ethanol—toluene liquid mixtures. The alcohols permeated preferentially through all tested blend membranes, and the selectivity values increased with increasing poly(vinyl alcohol) content. The pervaporation characteristics of the blend membranes were also strongly influenced by the feed mixture composition. The fluxes increased exponentially with increasing alcohol concentration in the feed mixtures, whereas the selectivities decreased for both liquid mixtures.     

The effect of crosslinked networks with poly(ethylene glycol) on sulfonated polyimide for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

To investigate the effect of crosslinking by a hydrophilic group on a sulfonated polyimide electrolyte membrane, sulfonated polyimide end‐capped with maleic anhydride was synthesized using 1,4,5,8‐naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride, 4,4′‐diaminobiphenyl, 2,2′‐disulfonic acid, 2‐bis [4‐(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl] hexafluropropane and maleic anhydride. The sulfonated polyimides end‐capped with maleic anhydride were self‐crosslinked or crosslinked with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate. A series of the crosslinked sulfonated polyimides having various ratios of sulfonated polyimide and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate were prepared and compared with uncrosslinked and self‐crosslinked sulfonated polyimides. The synthesized sulfonated polyimide films were characterized for FTIR spectrum, thermal stability, ion exchange capacity, water uptake, hydrolytic stability, morphological structure, and proton conductivity. The formation of sulfonated polyimide was confirmed in FTIR spectrum. Thermal stability was good for all the sulfonated polyimides that exhibited a three‐step degradation pattern. Ion exchange capacity was the same for both the uncrosslinked and the self‐crosslinked sulfonated polyimides (1.30 mEq/g). When the crosslinked sulfonated polyimides with poly(ethylene glycol) were compared, the ion exchange capacity was decreased as 1.27 > 1.25 > 1.23 mEq/g and water uptake was increased as 23.8 < 24.0 < 24.3% with the increase in poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate content. All the crosslinked sulfonated polyimides with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate were stable for over 200 h at 80 °C in deionized water. Morphological structure and mean intermolecular distance were obtained by WAXD. Proton conductivities were measured at 30, 50, 70, and 90 °C. The proton conductivity of the crosslinked sulfonated polyimides with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate increased with the increase in poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate content despite the fact that the ion exchange capacity was decreased. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 1455–1464, 2005     

Controlled sulfonation of poly(arylene ether sulfone)s and poly(arylene ether ketone)s with different molecular structures for polymer electrolyte membranes

Poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymers derived from 9,9-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)fluorene, bisphenol S and 4,4′-difluorodiphenylsulfone and poly(arylene ether ketone) copolymers derived from 4-phenoxybiphenyl, diphenyl ether and isophthaloyl chloride were prepared as precursor polymers for sulfonation reaction in which sulfonic groups are introduced quantitatively into specified positions. Sulfonation reaction for these two series of copolymers by concentrated sulfuric acid was successfully carried out to give sulfonated polymers with controlled positions and degree of sulfonation. Thermal stability, moisture absorption and proton conductivity for these two series of copolymers were measured and the results were compared to those of perfluorosulfonic acid polymers.     

Molecular level structures of poly(n-alkyl methacrylate)s with different side chain lengths at the polymer/air and polymer/water interfaces

Sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy has been successfully applied to study molecular structures of several poly(n-alkyl methacrylate)s (PAMAs) with different side chain lengths at the PAMA/air and PAMA/water interfaces. We have observed that the ester side chains from all PAMAs always dominate the interface, but the orientation information of the methyl end group on the side chains varies, depending on the length of the side chain. The contributions from methylene groups on the side chains have been evaluated, and the surface structures have been related to the surface tension of these polymers. Different water restructuring behaviors have been observed for different PAMAs. This phenomenon and its reversibility are strongly dependent on the glass transition temperature of each polymer, which is influenced by the side chain length. Detailed data fitting and analysis has been discussed.     

Formation of microporous poly(hydroxybutyric acid) membranes for culture of osteoblast and fibroblast

Microporous membranes of a biodegradable polymer, poly(hydroxybutyric acid) (PHB), were prepared by a phase‐inversion process and their cell compatibility was evaluated in vitro. A ternary system, ethanol/chloroform/PHB, was employed to prepare the membranes, wherein ethanol and chloroform were served as the nonsolvent and solvent for PHB, respectively. In the phase‐inversion process, the polymer dissolution temperature was varied from 80 to 120°C to yield membranes with specific morphologies, such as globular particles, porous channels, etc. Moreover, cell viability was examined on the formed membranes. Two cell lines, osteoblast hFOB1.19 and fibroblast L929, were cultured in vitro. It was found that these two types of cells exhibited different responses on different membranes: the hFOB1.19 cells showed significant increase in cell proliferation with increase in surface roughness, whereas the L929 cells demonstrated an opposite trend, preferring to attach and grow on a flat surface. PHB membranes with different morphologies exhibit different cell compatibilities, which may be useful means for the architectural design of materials for tissue engineering. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A ladder coordination polymer based on Ca2+ and (4,5‐dicyano‐1,2‐phenylene)bis(phosphonic acid): crystal structure and solution‐state NMR study

The preparation of coordination polymers (CPs) based on either transition metal centres or rare‐earth cations has grown considerably in recent decades. The different coordination chemistry of these metals allied to the use of a large variety of organic linkers has led to an amazing structural diversity. Most of these compounds are based on carboxylic acids or nitrogen‐containing ligands. More recently, a wide range of molecules containing phosphonic acid groups have been reported. For the particular case of Ca²⁺‐based CPs, some interesting functional materials have been reported. A novel one‐dimensional Ca²⁺‐based coordination polymer with a new organic linker, namely poly[[diaqua[μ₄‐(4,5‐dicyano‐1,2‐phenylene)bis(phosphonato)][μ₃‐(4,5‐dicyano‐1,2‐phenylene)bis(phosphonato)]dicalcium(II)] tetrahydrate], {[Ca₂(C₈H₄N₂O₆P₂)₂(H₂O)₂]·4H₂O}_n, has been prepared at ambient temperature. The crystal structure features one‐dimensional ladder‐like _∞¹[Ca₂(H₂cpp)₂(H₂O)₂] polymers [H₂cpp is (4,5‐dicyano‐1,2‐phenylene)bis(phosphonate)], which are created by two distinct coordination modes of the anionic H₂cpp²⁻ cyanophosphonate organic linkers: while one molecule is only bound to Ca²⁺ cations via the phosphonate groups, the other establishes an extra single connection via a cyano group. Ladders close pack with water molecules through an extensive network of strong and highly directional O—H…O and O—H…N hydrogen bonds; the observed donor–acceptor distances range from 2.499 (5) to 3.004 (6) Å and the interaction angles were found in the range 135–178°. One water molecule was found to be disordered over three distinct crystallographic positions. A detailed solution‐state NMR study of the organic linker is also provided.     

Novel sulphonated poly (vinyl chloride)/poly (2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulphonic acid) blends-based polyelectrolyte membranes for direct methanol fuel cells

Proton-conducting and methanol barrier properties of the proton exchange membrane (PEM), as well as the high cost of direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) components, are the key determinants of the performance and commercialization of DMFCs. Therefore, this study aimed to develop cost- and performance-effective membranes based on sulphonated poly (vinyl chloride) (SPVC)/poly (2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulphonic acid) (PAMPS) blends. Such membranes have been simply prepared by blending SPVC and PAMPS solutions, followed by solvent evaporation via casting. Interaction of SPVC with PAMPS was confirmed by different characterization techniques such as Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) and Raman scattering spectroscopy in which the two characteristic absorption bands of sulfonic groups appeared at 1093 and 1219 cm⁻¹ additionally, strong peaks at around 1656 cm⁻¹ attributed to vibration of amide groups of PAMPS portion in the polymer blend. Furthermore, the interaction of SPVC with PAMPS improves the thermal properties along with ion exchange capacity in turn decreasing the methanol permeability through the membrane in comparison with the SPVC membrane. The IEC of PVC and Nafion 117 membranes were 1.25, 0.91 meq/g; respectively. And the maximum water uptake of PVC and Nafion 117 membranes were 75 and 65.44%; respectively. Methanol permeability value of 7.7 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/s which was noticeably lower than the corresponding value recorded for Nafion® (3.39 × 10⁻⁶ cm²/s). Therefore, these fabricated membranes can be considered a low-cost efficient candidate for use in DMFC, especially for its capability to resolve the methanol cross-over issue.