Spectral and Thermal Studies of Transition Metal PSSA Ionomers

• Published in: Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society Vol. 9; no. 6; pp. 368 - 376
• Main Authors: Shim, Il-Wun, Risen, William M. Jr
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 1988
• ISSN: 0253-2964; 1229-5949

Transition metal PSSA ionomers containing Co(II), Ni(II), Cr(III), Ru(III), and Rh(III) are investigated by IR, Far-IR, UV-Vis and DSC. Reliable IR Spectroscopic criteria are established for assessing the degree of ion-exchange of PSSA ionomers and the local structures around metal cations in them. In the hydrated transition metal PSSA ionomers, the ionic groups are solvated by water molecules and there is no significant interactions between sulfonate group and metal cations. The visible spectra indicated that metal cations are present as [M$(H_2O)_6$]$^{n+}$ with Oh symmetry. Their $T_g$ values increase as the extent of ionic site concentration increases, but there is no direct dependence of $T_g$ on the nature of metal cations or their oxidation states. Thus, the water content in PSSA ionomer is found to have dominant influence on $T_g$ of hydrated transition metal PSSA ionomers. Dehydration of the hydrated transition metal PSSA ionomers results in direct interaction between ionic groups and significant color changes of the ionomers due to the changes of the local structures around metal cations. On the base of spectral data, their local structures are discussed. In case of dehydrated 12.8 and 15.8 mol % transition metal PSSA ionomers, no glass transition is observed in 25-$250^{\circ}C$ region and this is believed to arise from the formation of highly crosslinked structures caused by direct coordination of sulfonate groups of metal cations. In the 6.9 mol % transition metal PSSA ionomers, the glass transition is always observed whether they are hydrated or dehydrated and this is though to be caused by the sufficient segmental mobility of the polymer backbone.