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Novel sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)/phosphonated polysulfone polymer blends for proton conducting membranes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 June 2012

Nedal Y. Abu-Thabit ,
Shaikh A. Ali ,
S.M. Javaid Zaidi  and
Khaled Mezghani
Nedal Y. Abu-Thabit*
Affiliation:
Center of Research Excellence in Nanotechnology, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Shaikh A. Ali
Affiliation:
Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy and Chemistry Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
S.M. Javaid Zaidi
Affiliation:
Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy and Chemical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Khaled Mezghani
Affiliation:
Mechanical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: abuthabit_nidal@yahoo.com
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Abstract

Phosphonated polysulfones in the acid form (PPSU-As) with degree of phosphonation (DP) = 0.4, 0.75, and 0.96 were successfully synthesized and utilized for the preparation of polymer blend with sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) having a degree of sulfonation (DS) = 75. The resulted blend membranes were characterized and investigated as new polyelectrolyte membrane for fuel cells applications. SPEEK/PPSU-A blend membranes formed ionic networks through hydrogen bonding bridges between the strong sulfonic acid groups and the amphoteric phosphonic acid groups. These ionic interactions resulted in enhanced membrane properties in terms of water swelling, methanol uptake, methanol permeability, mechanical strength, and thermal stability, without significant loss of proton conductivity. All the blend membranes were transparent to visible light with presence of microphases in the order of 10–20 nm. When compared to parent SPEEK membranes, the new SPEEK/PPSU-A blend membranes showed slightly lower methanol permeability compared to neat SPEEK membrane. Membranes with 30 wt% phosphonic acid content with DP = 0.75 and 0.96, exhibited slightly higher proton conductivities at temperatures above 50 °C in comparison with Nafion membrane.

Keywords

polymerblendion-exchange materialblend membranephosphonated polysulfonehydrogen bondingpolyelectrolyte membraneionic network
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 27 , Issue 15: Focus Issue: Advanced Materials for Fuel Cells , 14 August 2012 , pp. 1958 - 1968
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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