High-performance multiblock PEMs containing a highly acidic fluorinated-hydrophilic domain for water electrolysis

Chae, Ji Eon; Lee, So Young; Baek, Sae Yane; Song, Kwang Ho; Park, Chi Hoon; Kim, Hyoung-Juhn; Lee, Kwan-Soo

doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2021.119694

High-performance multiblock PEMs containing a highly acidic fluorinated-hydrophilic domain for water electrolysis

Journal Article · Tue Aug 10 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Journal of Membrane Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2021.119694· OSTI ID:2000914

Chae, Ji Eon ^[1]; Lee, So Young ^[2]; Baek, Sae Yane ^[3]; Song, Kwang Ho ^[4]; Park, Chi Hoon ^[5]; Kim, Hyoung-Juhn ^[3]; ^[6]

Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
Korea University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Gyeongsang National University, Jinju-si (Korea, Republic of)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

The present paper describes the design and evaluation of novel hydrophilic–hydrophobic poly(arylene ether sulfone) (PAES) multiblock copolymers for their synergistic effects upon transport properties and their potential use in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. The multiblock copolymers are prepared via a coupling reaction between (i) a hydrophilic segment consisting of a disulfonated quinone fluorinated biphenyl group that contains fluorine moieties next to the sulfonated groups to increase the acidity, and (ii) hydrophobic segments composed of non-sulfonated biphenyl sulfone to provide dimensional stability. Two different lengths (molecular weights; 5k and 10k, where k represents 10³ g mol^-1) of hydrophobic segments are used to investigate the effects of the membrane properties compared with those of Nafion® and PAES random copolymer (i.e., BPSH40). Atomic force microscopy images of the BPSH40 and multiblock membranes are shown to agree closely with a mesoscale simulation, thus confirming the importance of the morphological effect upon the transport properties. Furthermore, the multiblock copolymer with a higher proportion of hydrophilic segments (10 k–5k) was shown to provide enhanced performance (3.41 A cm^-2 at 1.9 V) compared to the multiblock copolymer with equal proportions of hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments (10 k–10 k) due to the greater continuity of nano-sized ionic channels.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001

OSTI ID:: 2000914

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1862477

Report Number(s):: LA-UR--21-24427

Journal Information:: Journal of Membrane Science, Journal Name: Journal of Membrane Science Vol. 638; ISSN 0376-7388

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
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