To investigate how quaternary ammonium ion structure affects the membrane stability and conductivity property of alkaline exchange membrane (AEM), we synthesized a series of polysulfones (PSUs) functionalized with various ammonium hydroxide groups. Ammonium ions with different steric environments were prepared by our recently developed Suzuki cross-coupling reactions of borylated polysulfone. We used two different synthetic strategies for the final polymers: In path A, like a general process for AEMs amine functional groups are first introduced to the PSU and quarternized afterward. In path B, pre-quarternized ammonium ions are directly introduced to the PSU.
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