Imidazole-Functionalized Multiquaternary Side-Chain Polyethersulfone Anion-Exchange Membrane for Fuel Cell Applications

Li, Songsong; Du, Shenghua; Xie, Ning; Zhang, Tong; Xu, Yaoyao; Ning, Xingming; Chen, Pei; Chen, Xinbing

doi:10.1021/acsaem.2c01647

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 70 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As can be seen in Figure S6, the E a of QAPCE-1.4P is 14.44 kJ mol –1 , which suggests that less energy is required for the OH – transportation and a high ion conducting efficiency in QAPCE-1.4P. Furthermore, a comparison of the OH – conductivity of the as-prepared membranes with other AEMs reported in recent years is presented in Figure b. – It can be found that QAPCE-1.4P has a higher OH – conductivity than other membranes in a similar IEC, indicating that the performance of AEMs can be enhanced by improving the phase separation of membranes via adjusting the hydrophilic–hydrophobic polarity. Meanwhile, the complexation of sodium ions and crown ether plays a role as the cationic groups (as confirmed in Figure S3) that is also helpful to enhance the electrochemical behaviors of AEMs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 63%

Modification of Hydrophobic Diacid Units for Enhanced Poly(crown ether) Anion-Exchange Membrane Performance

Chen,

Lai,

Choo

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Energy Mater.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ideal anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) for anion-exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) must possess high OH − conductivity, excellent alkaline resistance, good thermal stability, and improved dimensional stability. In this study, four types of poly(crown ether) (PCE) cross-linked AEMs containing different aromatic or alicyclic dicarboxylic acids were prepared for AEMFCs. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic polarity discrimination of AEMs can be adjusted by the introduction of various diacids into the polymer backbones. As a result, an obvious microphase-separated structure will form in AEMs, which may aid the movement of hydroxide ions. The as-prepared QAPCE-1.4P membranes with 1,4-phenylenediacetic acid as the dicarboxylic acid exhibit a distinct micromorphology separation, as confirmed by morphology characterization using small-angle X-ray scattering, atomic force microscopy, as well as transmission electron microscopy. The highest hydroxide ion conductivity of QAPCE-1.4P at 80 °C in ultrapure water is 133.25 mS cm −1 . Meanwhile, QAPCE-1.4P shows an improved dimensional stability at 80 °C with a swelling ratio of 10.83%. In addition, QAPCE-1.4P shows good chemical stability (96.1% ionic conductivity retention) even after being put in harsh alkali conditions at 80 °C for 40 days. Furthermore, the maximum power density of a single cell using QAPCE-1.4P as the polymer electrolyte membranes can reach 689 mW cm −2 in hydrogen/oxygen (80 °C).

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 63%

Modification of Hydrophobic Diacid Units for Enhanced Poly(crown ether) Anion-Exchange Membrane Performance

Chen,

Lai,

Choo

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Energy Mater.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Then, the possible degradation mechanism was proposed (Figure S6). It was found that the hydroxide conductivity of ImPSF-PEG200, ImPSF-PEG600, ImPSF-PEG1000, ImPSF-PEG2000, and ImPSF-PEG4000 remained at 59%, 58%, 67%, 71%, and 63% of their original values, respectively, after 360 h (15 days), which showed moderate alkaline stability in comparison to the reported membranes under the same testing conditions [26,[54][55][56][57][58]. In comparison, the ImPSF membrane remained at only 52% of its original value after 360 h, showing that blending with PEG can significantly improve the alkaline stability of AEMs.…”

Section: Alkaline Stabilitymentioning

confidence: 81%

A Hydrophilic Polyethylene Glycol-Blended Anion Exchange Membrane to Facilitate the Migration of Hydroxide Ions

Gao,

Jin,

et al. 2024

Polymers

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As one of the most important sources for green hydrogen, anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) have been developing rapidly in recent decades. Among these components, anion exchange membranes (AEMs) with high ionic conductivity and good stability play an important role in the performance of AEMWEs. In this study, we have developed a simple blending method to fabricate the blended membrane ImPSF-PEGx via the introduction of a hydrophilic PEG into the PSF-based ionic polymer. Given their hydrophilicity and coordination properties, the introduced PEGs are beneficial in assembling the ionic groups to form the ion-conducting channels. Moreover, an asymmetric structure is observed in ImPSF-PEGx membranes with a layer of finger-like cracks at the upper surface because PEGs can act as pore-forming agents. During the study, the ImPSF-PEGx membranes exhibited higher water uptake and ionic conductivity with lower swelling ratios and much better mechanical properties in comparison to the pristine ImPSF membrane. The ImPSF-PEG1000 membrane showed the best overall performance among the membranes with higher ionic conductivity (82.6 mS cm−1 at 80 °C), which was approximately two times higher than the conductivity of ImPSF, and demonstrated better mechanical and alkaline stability. The alkaline water electrolyzer assembled by ImPSF-PEG1000 achieved a current density of 606 mA cm−2 at 80 °C under conditions of 1 M KOH and 2.06 V, and maintained an essentially unchanged performance after 48 h running.

show abstract

“…Over the last decade, several polyarylene ether (PAE) polymers have been widely adopted as the backbone in AEMs because of their good mechanical properties, film-forming ability, and thermal stability. Many innovative AEMs have been developed based on polymer backbones such as polyether ether ketone, [73,74] polyphenylene oxide (PPO), [75,76] polybenzimidazole, [77,78] and polyethersulfone [79,80] (Figure 4a). Recent reports have revealed that not only cations but also polymer backbones can undergo nucleophilic attack by OH À , resulting in polymer degradation, especially when polar bonds such as ether and sulfone are present in the backbones.…”

Section: Strategies For Polymer Backbonesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Challenges on the Alkaline Stability of Anion Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cells

Xu,

Li,

Ding

et al. 2023

ChemElectroChem

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs), which consist of positively charged groups, not only allow the directional transport of OH− but can also separate anode and cathode reactions. Over the past decades, significant progress has been made in the preparation of high‐performance polymer electrolyte membranes with high conductivity, good mechanical properties, and satisfactory dimensional stability. However, the wide application of AEMs remains limited by various factors, especially alkaline stability, thereby hindering the development of fuel cells. This minireview provides an overview of recent strategies for improving the alkaline stability of AEMs. The influence of various polymer molecular structures on alkaline stability is discussed in detail. These insights into key factors affecting alkaline stability can act as guidelines for the design of novel AEMs with enhanced performance.

show abstract

Imidazole-Functionalized Multiquaternary Side-Chain Polyethersulfone Anion-Exchange Membrane for Fuel Cell Applications

Cited by 12 publications

References 70 publications

Modification of Hydrophobic Diacid Units for Enhanced Poly(crown ether) Anion-Exchange Membrane Performance

Modification of Hydrophobic Diacid Units for Enhanced Poly(crown ether) Anion-Exchange Membrane Performance

A Hydrophilic Polyethylene Glycol-Blended Anion Exchange Membrane to Facilitate the Migration of Hydroxide Ions

Current Challenges on the Alkaline Stability of Anion Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cells

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About