Anion exchange membrane (AEM) is
the heart of alkali electrolyte
membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs). To achieve high performance of AEMFC,
high conductivity and alkaline stability of AEMs are highly desired.
In the present work, we report the synthesis of ether-free polymers
with different degrees of Y-shaped branching as AEM materials. Our
investigations reveal that incorporating bulky, rigid, and Y-branching
units into the polymer backbone can increase the free volume of the
AEM and thus help build ion channels with lower hydroxide ion transport
resistance. The resultant AEM showed a markedly improved ionic conductivity
(116.92 mS/cm at 80 °C), while the simple linear type of the
AEM only showed an ion conductivity of 63.63 mS/cm at a similar ion
exchange capacity. With such an AEM, the peak power density of the
H2/O2 single cell at 60 °C reaches 275
mW/cm2.
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