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. 2020 Jun 30;10(7):138.
doi: 10.3390/membranes10070138.

Anion Exchange Membranes Prepared from Quaternized Polyepichlorohydrin Cross-Linked with 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole Grafted Poly(arylene ether ketone) for Enhancement of Toughness and Conductivity

Cao Manh Tuan  1 , Vo Dinh Cong Tinh  1 , Dukjoon Kim  1
Affiliations

Anion Exchange Membranes Prepared from Quaternized Polyepichlorohydrin Cross-Linked with 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole Grafted Poly(arylene ether ketone) for Enhancement of Toughness and Conductivity

Cao Manh Tuan et al. Membranes (Basel). .

Abstract

A novel anion exchange membrane was synthesized via crosslinking of the quaternized polyepichlorohydrin (QPECH) by 1-(3-aminopropyl) imidazole grafted poly(arylene ether ketone) (PAEK-API). While the QPECH provided an excellent ion conductive property, the rigid rod-structured PAEK-API played a reinforcing role, along with providing the high conductivity associated with the pendant API group. The chemical structure of QPECH/PAEK-API membranes was identified by 1H nuclear magnetic resonace spectroscopy. A variety of membrane properties, such as anion conductivity, water uptake, length swelling percentage, and thermal, mechanical and chemical stability, were investigated. The QPECH/PAEK-API1 membrane showed quite high hydroxide ion conductivity, from 0.022 S cm-1 (30 °C) to 0.033 S cm-1 (80 °C), and excellent mechanical strength, associated with the low water uptake of less than 40%, even at 80 °C. Such high conductivity at relatively low water uptake is attributed to the concentrated cationic groups, in a cross-linked structure, facilitating feasible ion transport. Further, the QPECH/PAEK-API membranes showed thermal stability up to 250 °C, and chemical stability for 30 days in a 4 NaOH solution, without significant loss of ion exchange capacity.

Keywords: Anion exchange membrane; PAEK; crosslinking; imidazole; ion conductivity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Synthetic pathway of PAEK-API precursors.
Scheme 2
Scheme 2
Synthetic pathway of QPECH/PAEK-API.
Figure 1
Figure 1
1H NMR spectra of (a) PAEK-COOH and (b) PAEK-NHS (c) PAEK-API precursors.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Physical appearance images of (a) QPECH/PAEK-API blend and (b) cross-linked membranes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Temperature dependence of (a) water uptake and (b) length swelling percentage for QPECH/PAEK-API membranes.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Temperature dependence of anion conductivity of QPECH/PAEK-API membranes.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Tensile stress vs. strain behavior of QPECH/PAEK-API membranes.
Figure 6
Figure 6
TGA behavior of QPECH/PAEK-API membranes.
Figure 7
Figure 7
SAXS patterns of QPECH/PAEK-API membranes.
Figure 8
Figure 8
IEC values of QPECH/PAEK-API membranes as a function of time in 4 M NaOH at 60 °C.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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