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Fully aromatic block copolymers for fuel cell membranes with densely sulfonated nanophase domains

Author

Summary, in English

Two multiblock copoly(arylene ether sulfone)s with similar block lengths and ion exchange capacities (IECs) were prepared by a coupling reaction between a non-sulfonated precursor block and a highly sulfonated precursor block containing either fully disulfonated diarylsulfone or fully tetrasulfonated tetraaryldisulfone segments. The latter two precursor blocks were sulfonated via lithiation-sulfination reactions whereby the sulfonic acid groups were exclusively placed in ortho positions to the many sulfone bridges, giving these blocks IECs of 4.1 and 4.6 meq·g−1, respectively. Copolymer membranes with IECs of 1.4 meq·g−1 displayed well-connected hydrophilic nanophase domains and had decomposition temperatures at, or above, 300 °C under air. The copolymer with the tetrasulfonated tetraaryldisulfone segments showed a proton conductivity of 0.13 S·cm−1 at 80 °C under fully humidified conditions, and surpassed that of a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane (NRE212) by a factor of 5 at –20 °C over time.

Publishing year

2011

Language

English

Pages

474-480

Publication/Series

Macromolecular Rapid Communications

Volume

32

Issue

5

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Topic

  • Chemical Sciences

Keywords

  • polymer electrolyte fuel cell membranes
  • sulfonations
  • amphiphilic block copolymers
  • ionomers
  • polycondensation

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1022-1336