Mechanical and morphological studies of sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)s for potential application in fuel cell membrane

Abstract

Two groups of synthesized sulfonated poly(ether sulfone)s with similar structures but different size of repeat units were selected. Investigation of the properties of these copolymers with different sulfonation contents for application as fuel cell membrane was the main aim of this study. These groups of copolymers showed different thermal behavior, mechanical properties, dimensional and oxidative stability, ion exchange capacity, water uptake, and proton conductivity. Structure–property relation was surveyed, and the copolymers showed acceptable results for use as fuel cell membrane. The swelling ratio of the copolymers was in the range of 3.3–6.6%, and the proton conductivity of them was about 0.020–0.077 S/cm at 25°C. These data were comparable with Nafion 115 with 8.15% of swelling ratio and 0.085 S/cm of proton conductivity. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ce–Mn bimetallic oxide-doped SPEEK/SPPO blend composite membranes to induce high oxidative tolerance and proton conductivity for hydrogen fuel cells

“…Aromatic non-uorinated PEMs, basically sulfonated derivatives of poly(arylene ethers), have attracted the attention of many researchers as potential PEMs for fuel cells due to their ease of sulfonation, controllable degree of sulfonation and high lm-forming ability. 9 The use of sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (SPEEK), 10,11 sulfonated polysulfone (SPSf), 12 sulfonated polyethersulfone (SPES), 13 sulfonated poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (SPPO), 14 sulfonated polystyrene and its derivatives, 15 and sulfonated polybenzimidazole 16 as potential PEMs for PEMFCs has been reported so far. Among these PEMs, SPEEK and SPPO have drawn much attention due to their easy synthetic process, commercial availability, and low cost of poly ether ether ketone (PEEK) and poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO).…”

Current Challenges and Perspectives of Polymer Electrolyte Membranes

“…Because of its special structure (polytetra­fluoroethylene (PTFE) hydrophobic backbones, sulfonic acid groups, and perfluoroether hydrophilic side chains), it has many advantages, such as strongly acidic sulfonic acid groups and obvious phase separation. , However, there are still some shortcomings for Nafion, including high synthesis difficulty, high membrane cost, low glass transition temperatures and the ionic clusters dehydrate readily above 80 °C, which are impediments to high-temperature fuel cells . To overcome these problems of Nafion, the non-perfluorinated PEMs based on sulfonated derivatives of poly­(arylene ether)­s have been developed because they are mechanically and thermally stable up to 200 °C . However, compared to Nafion, the non-fluorinated aromatic PEMs exhibit poor mobility of side chains and low dissociation ability of sulfonic acid groups. − Therefore, additional means are needed to improve the conductivity.…”

Surface modified multi‐walled carbon nanotubes and Nafion nanocomposite membranes for use in fuel cell applications

“…Hence, a lot of researches have been devoted to introduce new membranes as alternatives to neat Nafion, considering the characteristics of an ideal PEM, including not only high proton conductivity but also having durability, low electrical conductivity, and being barrier to the methanol molecules as the fuel. In this regard, and as the first strategy, a number of sulfonated polymers, such as poly(ether ether ketone), poly(glycidyl methacrylate), polyimides, polystyrene, and nonsulfonated polymers, such as modified chitosan, have been studied to date …”