Clustered piperidinium-functionalized poly(terphenylene) anion exchange membranes with well-developed conductive nanochannels

• Published in: Journal of colloid and interface science Vol. 608; no. Pt 2; pp. 1247 - 1256
• Main Authors: Lin, Chenxiao, Cheng, Wenxue, Miao, Xinxin, Shen, Xingchen, Ling, Liming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15.02.2022
• Subjects: anion exchange; Anion exchange membranes; Aryl-ether-free; Clustered cations; Microphase separation; Poly(terphenylene); transmission electron microscopes; Clustered cations; Microphase separation; Poly(terphenylene); Anion exchange membranes; Aryl-ether-free
• ISSN: 0021-9797; 1095-7103; 1095-7103
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.10.122

[Display omitted] •AEMs with clustered cations are fabricated by simple steps.•Well-developed conductive nanochannels are constructed in the membranes.•The as-prepared AEMs exhibit low swelling ratio.•The highest conductivity could reach up to 117.5 mS cm−1.•Aryl-ether-free backbone result in a good alkaline stability. Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) attract considerable attention owing to their high-power density and potential utilization of cheap non-noble metal catalysts. However, anion exchange membranes (AEMs) still face the problems of low conductivity, poor dimensional and chemical stability. To address these issues, AEMs with clustered piperidinium groups and ether-bond-free poly(terphenylene) backbone (3QPAP-x, x = 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) were designed. Transmission electron microscope results show that the clustered ionic groups are responsible for fabricating well-developed conductive nanochannels and restraining the swelling behavior of the membranes. 3QPAP-0.4 and 3QPAP-0.5 AEMs exhibit higher conductivity (117.5 mS cm−1, 80 °C) and lower swelling ratio than that of commercial FAA-3-50 (80.4 mS cm−1, 80 °C). The conductivity of 3QPAP-0.5 only decreased by 10.4% after treating with 1 M NaOH at 80 °C for 720 h. The Hofmann elimination degradation of the cationic groups is restrained by the long flexible alkyl chain between cations. Based on the high performance of 3QPAP-0.5, an H2-O2-type AEMFC reaches 291.2 mW cm−2 (60 °C), which demonstrates that the as-prepared AEMs are promising for application in fuel cells.