Ion-exchange membranes prepared by blending sulfonated poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) with polybenzimidazole

New ion-exchange acid/base-blend (SPPO/PBI) membranes were prepared by mixing NN-dimethylacetamide (DMA) solutions of sulfonated poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (SPPO) in the ammonium form and of polybenzimidazole (PBI), casting the solution as a thin film, evaporating the solvent, and treating the membrane with aqueous hydrochloric acid. The resulting membranes were found insoluble in DMA. The preliminary tests of the membranes were carried out in an H-2/O-2 fuel cell at room temperature. Their performance in the fuel cell increased with the increase in the concentration of SPPO sulfonic acid groups in the blend, but the membranes formed with the highly sulfonated SPPO alone or predominanting, which swelled excessively in water, did not give reproducible results, and their performance was usually inferior to that of the membranes having an optimum ratio of both components. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.