Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) with robust alkaline stability and high ionic conductivity are imminently required for the promising electrochemical energy conversion devices – fuel cells.
The
development of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) is hindered
by the trade-off of ionic conductivity, alkaline stability, and mechanical
properties. Tröger’s base polymers (Tb-polymers) are
recognized as promising membrane materials to overcome these obstacles.
Herein, the AEMs made from Tb-poly(crown ether)s (Tb-PCEs) show good
comprehensive performance. The influence of crown ether on the conductivity
and alkaline stability of AEMs has been investigated in detail. The
formation of hydronium ion-crown ether complexes and an obvious microphase-separated
structure formed by the existence of crown ether can enhance the conductivity
of the AEMs. The maximum OH– conductivity of 141.5
mS cm–1 is achieved from the Tb-PCEs based AEM (Tb-PCE-1)
at 80 °C in ultrapure water. The ion-dipole interaction of the
Na+ with crown ether can protect the quaternary ammonium
from the attack of OH– to improve the alkaline stability
of AEMs. After 675 h of alkaline treatment, the OH– conductivity of Tb-PCE-1 decreases by only 6%. The Tb-PCE-1-based
single cell shows a peak power density of 0.202 W cm–2 at 80 °C. The prominent physicochemical properties are attributed
to the well-developed microstructure of the Tb-PCEs, as revealed by
TEM, AFM, and SAXS observations.
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