A Highly Hydroxide Conductive, Chemically Stable Anion Exchange Membrane, Poly(2,6 dimethyl 1,4 phenylene oxide)-b-Poly(vinyl benzyl trimethyl ammonium), for Electrochemical Applications

A chemically stable copolymer [poly(2,6 dimethyl 1,4 phenylene oxide)-b-poly(vinyl benzyl trimethyl ammonium)] with two ion exchange capacities, 3.2 and 2.9 meq g(-1), was prepared as anion exchange membranes (AEM-3.2 and AEM-2.9). These materials showed high OH- conductivities of 138 mS.cm(-1) and 106 mS.cm(-1), for AEM-3.2 and AEM-2.9 respectively, at 60 degrees C, and 95% RH. The OH- conductivity = 45 mS.cm(-1) for AEM-3.2 at 60% RH and 60 degrees C in the absence of CO2. Amongst the ions studied, only OH- is fully dissociated at high RH. The lower E-a = 10-13 kJ.mol(-1) for OH- compared to F- similar to 20 kJ.mol(-1) in conductivity measurements, and of H2O from self-diffusion coefficients suggests the presence of a Grotthuss hopping transport mechanism in OH- transport. PGSE-NMR of H2O and F- show that the membranes have low tortuosity, 1.8 and 1.2, and high water self-diffusion coefficients, 0.66 and 0.26 x 10(-5) cm(2).s(-1), for AEM-3.2 and AEM-2.9 respectively. SAXS and TEM show that the membrane has several different sized water environments, ca. 62 nm, 20 nm, and 3.5 nm. The low water uptake, lambda = 9-12, reduced swelling, and high OH- conductivity, with no chemical degradation over two weeks, suggests that the membrane is a strong candidate for electrochemical applications. (C) The Author(s) 2016. Published by ECS. All rights reserved.