Alternating copolymer based on sulfonamide‐substituted phenylmaleimide and vinyl monomers as polymer electrolyte membrane |
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| Authors: | Tomohiro Yasuda Yukiko Okimura Arata Oishi Hisashi Kokubo Masayoshi Watanabe |
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| Institution: | 1. Cooperative Research and Development Center, Yokohama National University, 79‐5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya‐ku, Yokohama 240‐8501, Japan;2. Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Yokohama National University, 79‐5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya‐ku, Yokohama 240‐8501, Japan |
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| Abstract: | The alternating copolymerization of phenylmaleimide (PMI) with a pendant sulfonamide acid group (sa‐PMI) and n‐butyl vinyl ether (BVE) as the aliphatic vinyl monomer afforded proton‐conducting polymer electrolytes—sa‐PMI‐BVEs—and their properties were compared with those of sa‐PMI‐STs that were synthesized from sa‐PMI and styrene. The ion exchange capacities (IECs) can be easily controlled by partly replacing sa‐PMI with unsubstituted PMI. sa‐PMI‐BVE is more flexible than sa‐PMI‐ST, and therefore, forms thin membranes even at high IECs, while sa‐PMI‐ST membranes are rigid and brittle. However, sa‐PMI‐BVE exhibits rather low thermal and oxidative stability. To realize polymer electrolyte membranes with reliable mechanical strength and a high IEC, gel‐filled membranes were prepared by polymerization in the presence of a small amount of a crosslinker, divinylbenzene, in porous polytetrafluoroethylene membranes. By using the gel‐filled membrane, H2/O2 fuel cells could be operated at 80 °C with reasonable performance. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013 |
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| Keywords: | copolymerization fuel cell phenylmaleimide polyelectrolytes radical polymerization sulfonamide acid |
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