High Conductive Anion Exchange Membranes from All-Carbon Twisted Intrinsic Microporous Polymers

Abstract

This study obtained solution-tractable anion-selective membranes with intrinsic porous and highly ionic conductive capabilities by a convenient route. We used the coplanar structure of 9,9-dimethylxanthene to construct a rigid twisted intrinsic microporous all-carbon skeleton PDI with up to 363.4 m 2 g −1 of Brunauer−Emmett−Teller surface, and the pore was filled with a quaternary ammonium salt containing long flexible alkyl chains, which produced an efficient means of OH − transport. The conductivity of the resulting polymer (QPDI-100) is reached as high as 205 mS cm −1 at 80 °C. The size stability was determined to be good at high conductance and swelling ratio is less than 15% at 80 °C. QPDI-a exhibited good stability under alkaline conditions, and 90% of the conductivity of QPDI-100 was retained after being immersed in 1 M NaOH solution at 60 °C for 40 days. The power density of H 2 −O 2 fuel cells at 60 °C was 437.7 mW cm −2 . The prepared intrinsic porous anion exchange membranes (AEMs) demonstrate potential for the development of anion exchange membrane fuel cells. This membrane design strategy paves the way for a new generation of AEMs for the purposes of electrochemical energy conversion and storage.

Application of Ionized Intrinsic Microporous Poly(phenyl-alkane)s as Alkaline Ionomers for Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

“…The AEM exhibited excellent hydroxide ion conductivity (165 mS cm –1 ) at 80 °C, which profited from the high free volume in the polymer facilitating the construction of well-developed hydroxide transportation channels . Later, Wang et al used the coplanar structure of 9,9-dimethylxanthrene to construct a rigid and distorted inherent microporous skeleton, and the resulting AEM showed extremely high conductivity (205 mS cm –1 ) and low swelling ratio (14.1%) at 80 °C . Although the microporous structure of PIMs is beneficial to construct effective ion transport channels and improve hydroxide conductivity, there are concerns that PIM-based AEMs may have high gas permeability due to the micropores.…”

“…27 Later, Wang et al used the coplanar structure of 9,9-dimethylxanthrene to construct a rigid and distorted inherent microporous skeleton, and the resulting AEM showed extremely high conductivity (205 mS cm −1 ) and low swelling ratio (14.1%) at 80 °C. 28 Although the microporous structure of PIMs is beneficial to construct effective ion transport channels and improve hydroxide conductivity, there are concerns that PIM-based AEMs may have high gas permeability due to the micropores. An increased AEM gas permeability could cause gas crossover between the electrodes, reduce H 2 purity, and cause undetectable issues to the long-term safe operation of the cell.…”

Modular Software for Generating and Modelling Diverse Polymer Databases

“…The diverse chemical, mechanical and electronic properties of polymers underlie their application in relevant technological areas spanning structural materials, cosmetics, pharmaceutical formulation, electronics, and biotechnology. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] In order to optimize their aforementioned properties for this range of applications, the role of polymer constitution and topology has been widely explored, with a range of architectures including homopolymers, block copolymers, branched and ring polymers. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] As a result of contemporary research activities, the chemical and structural domains of synthetic polymers are continuously growing.…”

Modular Software for Generating and Modeling Diverse Polymer Databases

“…The diverse chemical, mechanical, and electronic properties of polymers underlie their application in relevant technological areas spanning structural materials, cosmetics, pharmaceutical formulation, electronics, and biotechnology. − In order to optimize their aforementioned properties for this range of applications, the roles of polymer constitution and topology have been widely explored, with a range of architectures including homopolymers, block copolymers, and branched and ring polymers. − As a result of contemporary research activities, the chemical and structural domains of synthetic polymers are continuously growing. − …”