Synthesis and properties of proton exchange membranes based oncross-linked block sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)s

• 1、School of Environmental and Biological Engineering,Nanjing University of Science and Technology,Nanjing 210094

Abstract：In order to improve the proton conductivity and stability of proton exchange membranes based on sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES), a series of cross-linked block SPAES membranes (cbSPAES) were prepared. The block SPAES copolymers were synthesized through block copolymerization and subsequently subjected to cross-linking modification in the presence of P2O5, where the cross-linking reaction taken place between -SO3H groups and active hydrogen atoms attached to the polymer backbones. Proton conductivity of the cbSPAES membranes were obtained by EIS, dimensional and hydrolytic stabilities were evaluated by investigating the membrane size changes in the in-plane/through-plane directions and accelerating aging test, respectively, in water. The results indicate: cbSPAES membranes have obvious better dimensional and hydrolytic stabilities than SPAES membranes; at the same cross-linking degree, water uptakes and proton conductivities of cbSPAES membranes increase with the increase in repeat units of sulfonated moieties. For example, the membrane of cbSPAES(30/10)-10 exhibits water uptake of 65%, size changes in the in-plane/through-plane directions of 0.16/0.18 and proton conductivity of 163 mS/cm in water at 60 oC.

Keywords： polymer chemistry proton exchange membrane poly(arylene ether sulfone) block cross-link