Swelling of individual nanodomains in hydrated block copolymer electrolyte membranes

Chen, X. Chelsea; Jiang, Xi; Balsara, Nitash P.

doi:10.1063/1.5029452

Title: Swelling of individual nanodomains in hydrated block copolymer electrolyte membranes

Journal Article · 20 July 2018 · Journal of Chemical Physics

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5029452 · OSTI ID:1471824

^[1]; Jiang, Xi ^[1]; Balsara, Nitash P. ^[2]

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Materials Sciences Division and Energy Technologies Area; Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Here, we examine the swelling of nanostructured block copolymer electrolytes immersed in liquid water. A series of sulfonated polystyrene-b-polyethylene-b-polystyrene (S-SES) membranes having the same nominal chemical composition but two different morphologies are prepared by systematic changes in processing. We start with a membrane comprising a mixture of homopolymer polystyrene (hPS) and a polystyrene-b-polyethylene-b-polystyrene (SES) copolymer. hPS is subsequently selectively removed from the membrane and the polystyrene domains are sulfonated to give S-SES membranes. The morphology of the membranes is controlled by controlling Φ_v, the volume fraction of hPS in the blended membrane. The morphology of the membranes was studied by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy (cryo-STEM), and cryogenic electron tomography. The overall domain swelling measured by SAXS decreases slightly at Φ_v = 0.29; a crossover from lamellar to bicontinuous morphology is obtained at the same value of Φ_v. The bicontinuous morphologies absorb more water than the lamellar morphologies. By contrast, the nanodomain swelling of the bicontinuous membrane (120%) is slightly less than that of the lamellar membrane (150%). Quantitative analysis of the STEM images and electron tomography was used to determine the swelling on the hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains due to exposure to water. The hydrophilic sulfonated polystyrene-rich domain spacing increases while the hydrophobic polyethylene domain spacing decreases when the membranes are hydrated. The extent of increase and decrease is not a strong function of Φ_v.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; National Inst. of Health (NIH)

Contributing Organization:: SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1471824

Journal Information:: Journal of Chemical Physics, Journal Name: Journal of Chemical Physics Journal Issue: 16 Vol. 149; ISSN 0021-9606

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Swelling of individual nanodomains in hydrated block copolymer electrolyte membranes

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