Achieving High Conductivity at Low Ion Exchange Capacity for Anion Exchange Membranes with Electrospun Polyelectrolyte Nanofibers

Abstract

There has been a "trade-off" between ion exchange capacity (IEC) and mechanical properties in anion exchange membranes. Thinking out of the box, high ion conductivity was realized with only a small amount of ion exchange groups (means low IEC) in this work, by way of constructing highly effective ion channels with electrospun polyelectrolyte nanofibers. At a low IEC of 1.02 mmol g −1 , the conductivity of quaternized poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) nanofiber (QPPONF)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (QPPONF/PVA) composite membranes achieved was 51.5 mS cm −1 at 60 °C, which was much higher than that of the homogenous QPPO casting membrane (20.3 mS cm −1 at 60 °C, IEC = 1.04 mmol g −1 ). Moreover, 70 wt % QPPONF/PVA composite membrane exhibits an excellent peak power density of 791 mW cm −2 in the H 2 /O 2 fuel cell test.

Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Based Hydrogel Anion Exchange Membranes for Alkaline Fuel Cell

“…Finally, the resultant was precipitated with acetone and washed with ethanol three times to remove any residual (82% yield, solid state). 13 2.4. Preparation of PVA-TFBA x -IM-MC z Hydrogel Anion Exchange Membranes.…”

“…1 H NMR spectroscopy was carried out with an Agilent (DD2 400-MR) nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, and DMSO-d 6 , D 2 O, and CDCl 3 were used as solvents, respectively. The solid-state 13 C NMR spectra were observed with an Agilent 600 M system (600 MHz). Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was conducted on a TGA/DSC1/1600LF (Netzsch), and dry samples were heated from room temperature to 600 °C at a rate of 10 °C min −1 under nitrogen atmosphere.…”

“…On the basis of the potential of using non-noble metals as catalysts − and fast reaction kinetics of the cathode under alkaline conditions, − anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) have attracted widespread attention in recent years. As one of the core components of AEMFCs, anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are required to conduct hydroxide ions (OH – ) and isolate the reaction gas.…”

Poly(vinyl alcohol)‐based membranes for fuel cell and water treatment applications: A review on recent advancements

“…Ref. : KOH‐doped‐PVA; 116 PVA/CSPVA/CS ECNCM; 117 QCS‐PVA/QLDH@SiO 2 ; 118 PVA‐ b ‐PVBTAC; 59 QPVA/GO; 114 QPVA/GO; 119 PVA/PDDA/MWCNTs; 120 PVA/PDDA/nano‐zirconia; 121 QPVA/CS/MoS 2 ; 113 QPVA/nFS; 122 ; QCS‐PVA/LDH@CNTs; 123 QPPONF/PVA; 124 QPVA/Fe 3 O 4 @GO; 114 QPVA/GO; 125 PVA‐Silica/CNC; 126 PVA/PQ‐10; 127 Py‐PVA‐Silica; 21 and QPVBC/PVA IPN 115 . Abbreviations: CNC, cellulose nanocrystals; CSPVA, crosslinked sulfonated PVA; ECNFM, electrospun composite nanofiber membrane; FS, Fumed silica; IPN, interpenetrating polymer network; MWCNT, mutiwalled CNT; FCNT, functionalized CNT; MoS 2 , Molybdenum disulfide; PDDA, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride); PQ‐10, cationic hydroxyl ethyl cellulose (polyquaternium‐10); PVA‐ b ‐PVBTAC, poly(vinyl alcohol‐ b ‐vinyl benzene trimethyl ammonium chloride); QCS, quaternized chitosan; QLDH, quaternized layered double hydroxide; QPPONF, quaternized poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene oxide) nanofiber; QPVA, quaternized PVA; QPVBC, quaternized poly(vinylbenzyl chloride)…”

Electrospinning of Polyepychlorhydrin and Polyacrylonitrile Anionic Exchange Membranes for Reverse Electrodialysis

“…In practice, optimizing the polymer solution composition and adjusting the feed velocity, the applied voltage, the rotational speed of the collector and the distance between the collector and the ejector tip allow for a fine-tuning of the structure and properties of the membrane, including mean nanofiber diameter, swelling degree (SD), hydrophobicity, ion-exchange capacity (IEC) and more [ 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Some of these properties can be linked, such as the SD and the IEC [ 9 ], therefore a careful balance must be made between the mechanical stability and the overall IEC.…”