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Updated: May 22, 2026

Ion-Exchange Membranes for the Fabrication of Reverse Electrodialysis Device
Published on: July 20, 2021
Engineering the van der Waals interaction in cross-linking-free hydroxide exchange membranes for low swelling and
Shuang Gu1, Jason Skovgard, Yushan S Yan
1Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA.
Abstract:
What a swell for hydroxides: The typical trade-off between swelling control and ion conductivity in ion-conducting polymer membranes is overcome by enhancement of van der Waals interactions among polymer chains. Using a quaternary phosphonium-functionalized polymer, the simple combination of high electron density of the polymer and large dipole moment of the functional group leads to low membrane swelling, high hydroxide conductivity, and excellent hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cell performance.
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