New block poly(ether sulfone) based anion exchange membranes with rigid side-chains and high-density quaternary ammonium groups for fuel cell application

Abstract

One kind of promising anion exchange membrane (AEM) bPES(x/y)-Q based on block poly(ether sulfone)s with a rigid side-chain and high-density annular quaternary ammonium groups has been developed. Characteristically, the AEMs have high conductivities (62.3–98.7 mS cm⁻¹) at low IECs (0.9–1.5 mequiv. g⁻¹) due to their excellent microphase separation resulting from block copolymer structures, rigid side-chains and high-density ion moieties. Meanwhile, the AEMs have relatively good alkaline stability and oxidative stability because of their special chemical structures. Further investigation reveals that the AEMs show potential application in anion exchange membrane fuel cells, where the bPES(5/20)-MPy based single fuel cell shows the maximum power density of 164 mW cm⁻².