TY - JOUR
T1 - Sulfonated poly(phenylene-co-arylene ether sulfone) multiblock membranes for application in high-performance fuel cells
AU - Wijaya, Farid
AU - Woo, Seunghee
AU - Lee, Hyejin
AU - Nugraha, Adam F.
AU - Shin, Dongwon
AU - Bae, Byungchan
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding: This work was supported by the framework of the Research and Development Program of the Korea Institute of Energy Research [grant number KIER C1-2489 ] and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) grant [grant number 20203020030010 ] funded by the Korean government ( MOTIE ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2022/3/5
Y1 - 2022/3/5
N2 - Sulfonated multiblock poly(phenylene-co-arylene ether sulfone) (SmPPES) membranes for application in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are prepared via Colon's Nickel catalyzed cross-coupling reaction. Their chemical stabilities and proton transport abilities are examined as functions of ion-exchange capacity (IEC) and hydrophilic (sulfonated phenylene) and hydrophobic (arylene ether sulfone) block lengths. The membranes show well-defined phase separation and proton conductivities comparable to or exceeding that of a reference Nafion membrane. Block length is positively correlated with conductivity and oxidative stability; SmPPES10–2.0 showed conductivities of 0.11 and 0.13 S/cm in water at 25 °C and 80 °C (90% relative humidity), respectively, and those of SmPPES5-2.0 were 0.10 and 0.11 S/cm, respectively. The SmPPES membrane oxidative stabilities (determined by Fenton's oxidative tests and peroxide exposure tests) are superior to those of conventional poly(arylene ether) membranes because of their sulfonated phenylene blocks. At 80 °C and 100% relative humidity, the optimal SmPPES membrane (IEC = 2.5 meq/g) delivers a current density of 1.5 A/cm2 at 0.6 V (hydrogen/air) and a high-frequency resistance of 38 mΩ cm2, outperforming the reference Nafion NR211 membrane. This control over sulfonated phenylene and ether sulfone hydrophobic blocks provides new insight into designing high-performance polymer electrolyte membranes.
AB - Sulfonated multiblock poly(phenylene-co-arylene ether sulfone) (SmPPES) membranes for application in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells are prepared via Colon's Nickel catalyzed cross-coupling reaction. Their chemical stabilities and proton transport abilities are examined as functions of ion-exchange capacity (IEC) and hydrophilic (sulfonated phenylene) and hydrophobic (arylene ether sulfone) block lengths. The membranes show well-defined phase separation and proton conductivities comparable to or exceeding that of a reference Nafion membrane. Block length is positively correlated with conductivity and oxidative stability; SmPPES10–2.0 showed conductivities of 0.11 and 0.13 S/cm in water at 25 °C and 80 °C (90% relative humidity), respectively, and those of SmPPES5-2.0 were 0.10 and 0.11 S/cm, respectively. The SmPPES membrane oxidative stabilities (determined by Fenton's oxidative tests and peroxide exposure tests) are superior to those of conventional poly(arylene ether) membranes because of their sulfonated phenylene blocks. At 80 °C and 100% relative humidity, the optimal SmPPES membrane (IEC = 2.5 meq/g) delivers a current density of 1.5 A/cm2 at 0.6 V (hydrogen/air) and a high-frequency resistance of 38 mΩ cm2, outperforming the reference Nafion NR211 membrane. This control over sulfonated phenylene and ether sulfone hydrophobic blocks provides new insight into designing high-performance polymer electrolyte membranes.
KW - Block copolymer
KW - Nickel-catalyzed coupling
KW - Phenylene
KW - Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell
KW - Proton-exchange membrane
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85122070383&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.memsci.2021.120203
DO - 10.1016/j.memsci.2021.120203
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85122070383
VL - 645
JO - Journal of Membrane Science
JF - Journal of Membrane Science
SN - 0376-7388
M1 - 120203
ER -