Synthesis and Characterization of Sulfonated Polyphosphazene-graft- Polystyrene Copolymers for Proton Exchange Membranes

A novel series of polyphosphazene-grafl-polystyrene （PP-g-PS） copolymers were successfully prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization （ATRP） of styrene monomers and brominated poly（bis（4-methylphenoxy）phosphazene） macroinitiator. The graft density and the graft length could be regulated by cha...

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Published inChinese journal of polymer science Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 151 - 162
Main Authors He, Min-lan, Xu, Hu-lin, Dong, Yan, Xiao, Jia-hong, Liu, Peng, Fu, Feng-yan, Hussain, Saghir, Zhang, Shu-zhen, Jing, Chao-jun, Yu, Qun, Zhu, Chang-jin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.02.2014
Subjects
Bromination
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Condensed Matter Physics
Copolymers
Density
Exchange
Grafting
Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering
Membranes
Methyl alcohol
Polymer Sciences
Polystyrene resins
原子转移自由基聚合
接枝
直接甲醇燃料电池
磺化反应
聚磷腈
聚苯乙烯磺酸
苯乙烯共聚物
质子交换膜
Atom transfer radical polymerization
Graft copolymers
Direct methanol fuel cell
Proton exchange membrane
Polyphosphazenes
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Summary:A novel series of polyphosphazene-grafl-polystyrene （PP-g-PS） copolymers were successfully prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization （ATRP） of styrene monomers and brominated poly（bis（4-methylphenoxy）phosphazene） macroinitiator. The graft density and the graft length could be regulated by changing the bromination degree of the macroinitiator and the ATRP reaction time, respectively. The PP-g-PS copolymers readily underwent a regioselective sulfonation reaction, which occurred preferentially at the polystyrene sites, producing the sulfonated PP-g-PS copolymers with a range of ion exchange capacities. The resulting sulfonated PP-g-PS membranes prepared by solution casting showed high water uptake, low water swelling and considerable proton conductivity. They also exhibited good oxidative stability and high resistance to methanol crossover. Morphological studies of the membranes by transmission electron microscopy showed clear nanophase-separated structures resulted from hydrophobic polyphosphazene backbone and hydrophilic polystyrene sulfonic acid segments, indicating the formation of proton transferring tunnels. Therefore, these sulfonated copolymers may be candidate materials for proton exchange membranes in direct methanol fuel cell （DMFC） applications.
Bibliography:Atom transfer radical polymerization; Direct methanol fuel cell; Graft copolymers; Proton exchange membrane Polyphosphazenes.
A novel series of polyphosphazene-grafl-polystyrene （PP-g-PS） copolymers were successfully prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization （ATRP） of styrene monomers and brominated poly（bis（4-methylphenoxy）phosphazene） macroinitiator. The graft density and the graft length could be regulated by changing the bromination degree of the macroinitiator and the ATRP reaction time, respectively. The PP-g-PS copolymers readily underwent a regioselective sulfonation reaction, which occurred preferentially at the polystyrene sites, producing the sulfonated PP-g-PS copolymers with a range of ion exchange capacities. The resulting sulfonated PP-g-PS membranes prepared by solution casting showed high water uptake, low water swelling and considerable proton conductivity. They also exhibited good oxidative stability and high resistance to methanol crossover. Morphological studies of the membranes by transmission electron microscopy showed clear nanophase-separated structures resulted from hydrophobic polyphosphazene backbone and hydrophilic polystyrene sulfonic acid segments, indicating the formation of proton transferring tunnels. Therefore, these sulfonated copolymers may be candidate materials for proton exchange membranes in direct methanol fuel cell （DMFC） applications.
11-2015/O6
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0256-7679
1439-6203
DOI:10.1007/s10118-014-1394-0