Fully aromatic block copolymers for fuel cell membranes with densely sulfonated nanophase domains
Shogo Takamuku1, Patric Jannasch
1Polymer and Materials Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden.
Abstract:
Two multiblock copoly(arylene ether sulfone)s with similar block lengths and ion exchange capacities (IECs) were prepared by a coupling reaction between a non-sulfonated precursor block and a highly sulfonated precursor block containing either fully disulfonated diarylsulfone or fully tetrasulfonated tetraaryldisulfone segments. The latter two precursor blocks were sulfonated via lithiation-sulfination reactions whereby the sulfonic acid groups were exclusively placed in ortho positions to the many sulfone bridges, giving these blocks IECs of 4.1 and 4.6 meq·g⁻¹, respectively. Copolymer membranes with IECs of 1.4 meq·g⁻¹ displayed well-connected hydrophilic nanophase domains and had decomposition temperatures at, or above, 300 °C under air. The copolymer with the tetrasulfonated tetraaryldisulfone segments showed a proton conductivity of 0.13 S·cm⁻¹ at 80 °C under fully humidified conditions, and surpassed that of a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane (NRE212) by a factor of 5 at -20 °C over time.
