Polyaryl piperidine anion exchange membranes with hydrophilic side chain

Recently, the development of high-performance and durable anion exchange membranes has been a top priority for anion exchange membrane fuel cells. Here, a series of polyaryl piperidine anion exchange membranes with hydrophilic side chain (qBPBA-80-OQ-x) are prepared by the superacid-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reaction. AFM images show that the hydrophilic side chain and hydrophobic main chain form a distinct microphase separation structure. The AEMs of qBPBA-80-OQ-100 and qBPBA-80 have close mechanical strength, but the ionic conductivity of the former (81 mS/cm, 80 degrees C) is higher than the latter (73 mS/ cm, 80 degrees C). In addition, qBPBA-80-OQ-100 AEM loses by 15.0% after an alkaline treatment of 720 h, while qBPBA-80 AEM loses by 17.8%. The results indicate that the introduction of hydrophilic side chain not only promotes the formation of microphase separation struc-ture, but also improves the ionic conductivity and alkaline resistance of polyaryl piperidine AEMs.(c) 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Recently, the development of high-performance and durable anion exchange membranes for fuel cells has been prioritized. In this study, polyaryl piperidine anion exchange membranes with hydrophilic side chains were synthesized via a superacid-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reaction. The membranes exhibited a distinct microphase separation structure between the hydrophilic side chain and hydrophobic main chain. The introduction of the hydrophilic side chain improved the ionic conductivity and alkaline resistance of the membranes, as indicated by their higher conductivity and lower weight loss after alkaline treatment compared to membranes without the hydrophilic side chain.