OH- Conductive Properties and Water Uptake of Anion Exchange Thin Films

Several investigations have indicated that proton conduction and hydration properties of acidic ionomers differ from those of membranes. However, relations between the OH- conductivity and water uptake in thin film forms of anion exchange membranes have not been reported yet. For this study, new in situ measurements were established to elucidate the OH- conductivity and water uptake without allowing any influence of CO2 from the air. Poly[(9,9-bis(6 '-(N,N,N-trimethylammonium)-hexyl)-9H-fluorene)-alt-(1,4-benzene)], denoted as PFB+, was synthesized as a model ionomer. The highest OH- conductivity of 273 nm-thick PFB+ film was 5.3x10(-2) S cm(-1) at 25 degrees C under 95 % relative humidity (RH), which is comparable to the reported OH- conductivity of PFB+ membrane. Reduced OH- conductivity was found in the thinner film at 95 % RH. The decreased OH- conductivity is explainable by the reduced number of water molecules contained in the thinner film. The OH- conductivity was reduced only slightly under the same water uptake.

Automated summary

This study established new in situ measurements to investigate the OH- conductivity and water uptake properties of a model ionomer, revealing that thinner films had reduced OH- conductivity due to a lower number of water molecules present. The OH- conductivity only slightly decreased under the same water uptake.