Synthesis and characterization of sulfonated poly(acrylene ether sulfones)

Abstract

Ionic groups incorporated into a polymer have a decided effect on its physical properties. A number of ionomers and polyelectrolytes have been widely applied. In particular, sulfonated bisphenol‐A polysulfone (SPSF) has been used as a composite or single‐component membrane for the desalination of water. In this article, the synthesis and physical characteristics of sulfonated polysulfone are addressed. A detailed synthesis route is provided and methods that yield determinable levels of sulfonation are described. These ion‐containing polymers retain an excessive amount of residual salts, which, of course, are impurities to the system. Therefore, before any analyses were made the polymers were subjected to a thorough soxhlet extraction process with boiling water, which appeared to be quite effective. The degree of sulfonation was assessed by several methods such as 1H NMR and FT‐IR. A new 1H NMR method was derived because the method cited in the literature proved to be too inconsistent for our work. The new 1H NMR method used a quaternary ammonium counterion [N(CH3)4]. These methyl protons are easily measured and may be ratioed against the isopropylidene protons in the polymer backbone that act as an internal standard. Characterization of the physical properties of SPSF consisted of water uptake, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermomechanical analysis (TMA), and solubility studies. Its physical appearance and mechanical behavior were improved by the solution procedure. Also addressed were the effects of different counterions (Na+ & Mg++) with SPSFs of low levels of sulfonation. The variation in physical properties between the divalent and monovalent counterions is dramatic, especially when observed by TMA in the rubber plateau above the apparent glass temperature.

Development and Characterization of Acid-Doped Polybenzimidazole/Sulfonated Polysulfone Blend Polymer Electrolytes for Fuel Cells

“…26,000, Aldrich͒ has been sulfonated to various degrees using chlorosulfonic acid as sulfonating agent, according to the procedure proposed by Johnson et al 26 The sulfonation degree ͑percentage of the introduced sulfonate group to polysulfone͒ of SPSF was determined by 1 H NMR and Fourier transform ͑FT͒-Raman spectroscopy. Membranes of PBI ͑solution in dimethylacetamide containing 2 wt % LiCl, Celanese͒ with SPSF were prepared by solution casting from dimethylacetamide ͑DMAc, Aldrich͒.…”

Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) reinforced sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membranes for vanadium redox flow battery application

“…Recently, sulfonated aromatic polymers, like sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketone) and poly(arylene ether sulfone) have received considerable attention due to their low cost, simplicity in synthesis and processing [16][17][18][19]. Even this kind of polymer membranes have already been investigated in fuel cell field, their application in VRBs has just started [20][21][22][23].…”

Functional flexible substrate in altering substitution phenylene core of fluorinated poly(arylene ether)s

“…Detailed procedure for synthesis of precursors, variationaly phenyl-substituted monomer and Polymers prepared by a modification of the published procedure are outlined in Scheme 1 [18][19][20][21][22]. The production of PAEs (P2-C~P4-C) is achieved via the nucleophilic displacement of fluorine atoms on bis(4-fluoro-3-trifluoromethyl)-n''-phenyl-quinquephenyl monomers (7)(8)(9).…”