Polytriazoles are considered as an excellent high-performance polymer due to their outstanding set of properties. The current investigation reports the synthesis of a phosphorus-containing fluorinated diazide monomer, that is, bis[4-(4′-azidophenoxy)-3-trifluoromethyl phenyl] phenylphosphine oxide (PFAZ) and utilization of this compound to synthesize a set of trifluoromethyl groups and phosphine oxide containing sulfonated polytriazoles (PTPFBSH-XX). The copolymers with a different level of sulfonation (-XX = −60, −70, −80, −90) were prepared by the Cu(I) catalyst-assisted click reaction of equimolar amounts of a dialkyne (BPALK) and a mixture of diazides having one sulfonated diazide (DSAZ) and PFAZ. The polymers were further characterized by NMR ( 1 H, 13 C, 19 F, and 31 P) and FTIR spectroscopy. Freestanding membranes were attained from the dissolved copolymers solution in DMSO by standard solution casting route. The membranes showcased acceptable thermal and mechanical stabilities, excellent water management with a high proton conductivity, and outstanding oxidative stability. SAXS, TEM, AFM, and cross-sectional FE-SEM studies of the membranes indicated phase-separated morphology. The oxidative stabilities of the membranes ranged over 18 h. The polytriazole PTPFBSH-90 (PFAZ/DSAZ/BPALK = 10:90:100, where the degree of sulfonation is 90%) having a weight-based ion exchange capacity (IEC W ) of 2.39 mequiv g −1 exhibited a high proton conductivity of 142 mS cm −1 under hydrated conditions at 90 °C. Furthermore, PTPFBSH-XX polymer membranes displayed a comparable performance in microbial fuel cell as Nafion117. The chemical oxygen demand removal results indicated that the polymeric membranes could be sustainable in bioelectrochemical systems.

A phosphaphenanthrene-based diazide monomer, 1,1-bis-(4-azidophenyl)-1-(6-oxido-6H-dibenz⟨c,e⟩⟨1,2⟩oxaphosphorin-6-yl) ethane (DPAZ), was synthesized via diazonium compound formation. DPAZ was used as one of the comonomers along with a sulfonated diazide to prepare a series of sulfonated polytriazoles (PTDPBSH-XX, where XX denotes the molar percentage of the sulfonated diazide in the diazide mixtures) through copper-induced click polymerization with the bisphenol-based dialkyne (BPALK). The products were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and NMR techniques. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) results indicated the formation of high molar mass products (weight average molecular weight as high as 74 900 g mol–1 with a polydispersity index (PDI) of 2.13). The polytriazoles showed high thermal stability, and the solution cast membranes from dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were flexible and had good mechanical integrity. PTDPBSH-XX copolymers displayed high proton conductivity (141 and 152 mS cm–1 at 80 and 90 °C, respectively, for PTDPBSH-90 with a weight-based ion exchange capacity (IECW) of 2.46 mequiv g–1) with balanced water management and high oxidative stability (>16.5 h). The images of the cross-sectional membranes obtained from atomic force microscopy (AFM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) studies revealed hydrophilic–hydrophobic phase-segregated morphology. Besides, the microbial fuel cell performances of the membranes were comparable with that of Nafion 117.

There has been a considerable increment in the atmospheric CO2 concentration, which has majorly contributed to the problem of global warming. This issue can be extenuated by effectively developing microbial electrosynthesis (MES) for the sequestration of CO2 with the concurrent production of biochemical and biofuels. Though the MES technology is in its infancy, it has exhibited enormous potential for sustainable mitigation of CO2 and bioelectrosynthesis of multi-carbon organic compounds. The problem of storage of excess renewable electrical energy by conventional means can also be alleviated by employing MES, which stores it in the form of C–C bonds of chemicals. This review focuses on the various aspects of MES and recent developments made in this field to overcome its bottlenecks, such as the lower yield of organic compounds, separation of products of higher chain organic compounds, etc. In particular, the microbial catalysts and cathode materials employed in MES have also been emphasized. Keeping in mind the potential of this innovative technology, researchers should focus on improving the yield of MES by developing novel low-cost cathode materials and discovering efficient and robust micro-organisms, which would be a significant step forward towards the further advancement of this technology.

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