Synergistic Effect of Localized Three-Dimensional Polymer Backbone and Self-Assembling Cation for the Construction of Novel Anion Exchange Membrane
Jialin Zhao, Jian Gao, Yijia Lei, Shiyao Sun, Jingyi Wu, Na Li, Jiahao Lu, Yi-Fang Chang, Jiayao Yang, Zhe Wang
Abstract
In this work, a series of novel anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are constructed using the synergistic action of an alkoxy cationic side chain and a three-dimensional branched monomer. The alkoxy cationic side chain creates fine hydrogen-bonding networks, and the presence of self-assembly effects contributes to ionic clustering within the membrane, resulting in efficient OH – transport. Trip-PTP-O-40 membrane achieves an OH – conductivity of 147.86 mS cm –1 at 80 °C. The selected branched polymer backbone has a localized three-dimensional structure and effectively limits the swelling of the membrane. Even in the presence of hydrophilic hydrogen bonding networks, Trip-PTP-O-40 membrane still maintains a swelling ratio of 15.96% (at 80 °C). The conductivity residual rate of Trip-PTP-O-40 membrane remains 93.7% and 80.1% after 1000 h at 80 °C in a solution of 2 M/5 M NaOH. In the cell testing, the Trip-PTP-O-40 membrane achieves a peak power density of 840.7 mW cm –2 . In addition, the polymer backbone prepared by ultrastrong acid catalysis can reach the polymerization end point quickly, which significantly improves the production efficiency. This experiment provides a new idea for the exploitation of high-performance AEMs.