Article
Polymer Science
Ruiting Zhou, Yanzhen Ren, Shoutao Gong, Lingling Ma, Lv Li, Yabin Jia, Gaohong He, Fengxiang Zhang
Summary: The study proposes a complementary side chain structure for anion exchange membranes, where a small amount of short side chain is blended with long side chain. The blend membrane exhibits improved conductivity and fuel cell performance, particularly at low ion exchange capacity.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xingyu Wu, Nanjun Chen, Chuan Hu, Harm-Anton Klok, Young Moo Lee, Xile Hu
Summary: A fluorination strategy is reported to create a phase-separated morphological structure in poly(aryl piperidinium) anion-exchange membranes (AEMs). The fluorinated AEMs possess high conductivity and dimensional stability, as well as excellent mechanical and chemical stability. AEMFCs using these fluorinated AEMs achieve outstanding peak power density and remain stable over extended operation.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Polymer Science
Xiaoqin Duan, Xiang Zhu, Gege Li, Ru Xia, Jiasheng Qian, Qianqian Ge
Summary: This study utilizes a rigid macromolecule PMDA to regulate the microphase morphology of hyperbranched AEMs, resulting in a distinct microphase morphology with interconnected ionic channels, higher ion conductivity, and lower water swelling ratio. Additionally, it improves the alkaline stability.
MACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Yu Ding, Chen-Xi Liu, Yi-Chang Ma, Mei-Xue Hu, Shuai Liu, Yu Gu, Lin Zhuang, Qiu-Gen Zhang, Bing-Wei Mao, Jia-Wei Yan
Summary: Anion exchange membrane (AEM) fuel cells have gained significant interest for their cost-effectiveness and environmentally friendly energy conversion. The effect of water content on the microstructure and conductivity of AEMs has not been systematically investigated. In this study, four AEMs were studied using atomic force microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to clarify the relationship between humidity-dependent surface microstructure and macroconductivity.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Junmin Li, Qiao Liu, Lin Tian, Wenli Ma, Fanghui Wang, Zhiqian Wang, Hong Zhu
Summary: Anion exchange membranes with excellent chemical stability and high performance were developed. The optimization of hydrophilic-hydrophobic microstructure was achieved by introducing hydrophobic rigid units and flexible side chains. The membranes exhibited low swelling ratio, high ion conductivity, and peak power density.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lei Bai, Lingling Ma, Lv Li, Anran Zhang, Xiaoming Yan, Fengxiang Zhang, Gaohong He
Summary: The study reports the synthesis of ether-free polymers with different degrees of Y-shaped branching as AEM materials, which can increase the free volume of the AEM and thus help build ion channels with lower hydroxide ion transport resistance, improving the ionic conductivity.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Guodong Xu, Ji Pan, Xiuyang Zou, Zhiyu Jin, Jiale Zhang, Pengda Fang, Qiuhuan Zhang, Zhe Sun, Feng Yan
Summary: The ionic conductivity of alkaline fuel cell anion exchange membranes (AEMs) is enhanced by constructing enhanced microphase-separated structures through the cooperativity of highly hydrophilic dual cations and highly hydrophobic fluorinated side chains. The flexibility of side chains is improved by the introduction of -O-, facilitating the formation of ion transport channels. The dual piperidinium cation functionalized membrane (PB2Pip-5C8F) achieves a high conductivity of 74.4 mS cm(-1) at 30 degrees C and 168.46 mS cm(-1) at 80 degrees C. The PB2Pip-5C8F membrane also exhibits the highest peak power density of 718 mW cm(-2) at 80 degrees C under a current density of 1197 mA cm(-2) without back pressure. Furthermore, the PB2Pip-5C8F membrane shows a low voltage decay rate of 1.68 mV h(-1) over 70 hours of operation at 80 degrees C.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Zhiru Liu, Li Bai, Shasha Miao, Chao Li, Ji Pan, Yu Jin, Dongrui Chu, Xiaomeng Chu, Lei Liu
Summary: Steric hindrance engineering plays a crucial role in the preparation of stable organic cations and durable polymeric anion exchange membrane materials. The study found that PPO-iP membranes, containing isopropyl-based QA cations, exhibited higher water uptake and hydroxide conductivity compared to PPO-nP and PPO-CH membranes. Additionally, PPO-CH membranes showed superior alkaline stability in chemical stability tests, while significant degradation was observed in PPO-iP and PPO-nP membranes. Overall, the highly conductive PPO-iP membrane demonstrated promising performance in alkaline fuel cells.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Lingling Ma, Manzoor Hussain, Lv Li, Naeem Akhtar Qaisrani, Lei Bai, Yabin Jia, Xiaoming Yan, Fengxiang Zhang, Gaohong He
Summary: Introducing octopus-like side chains in alkaline anion exchange membranes enhances conductivity and stability, leading to higher ion conductivity and durability. The use of these side chains in AEMs demonstrates improved performance in hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Zhen Wang, Shu Feng Zhou, Yi Zhi Zhuo, Ao Nan Lai, You Zhong Lu, Xiao Bin Wu
Summary: In this study, adamantane groups were introduced into the anion exchange membranes for fuel cells, resulting in a comb-shaped structure. By adjusting the ratio of hydrophobic to hydrophilic segments, the membranes exhibited improved mechanical properties and ionic conductivity. The resulting membranes showed well-defined microphase separation between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments, leading to high ionic conductivity and excellent mechanical properties. Therefore, these membranes have great potential for application in fuel cells.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jia Hui Chen, Wei Ting Gao, Yvonne Shuen Lann Choo, Xue Lang Gao, Ying Jie Liu, Xi Bin Yue, Xi Hao Wang, Ai Mei Zhu, Qiu Gen Zhang, Qing Lin Liu
Summary: A series of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) with semi-interpenetrating polymer network (sIPN) incorporating crosslinked poly(biphenyl N-methylpiperidine) (PBP) and spirobisindane-based intrinsically microporous poly(ether ketone) (PEK-SBI) have been prepared to achieve high ionic conductivity and improved chemical stability. The AEMs exhibit phase separated structures, promoting the hydroxide ion conductivity. Among them, the sIPN-90/10(PEK-SBI) AEM shows the highest hydroxide ion conductivity of 122.4 mS cm-1 and good alkaline stability. Moreover, it can achieve a peak power density of 481 mW cm-2 in a hydrogen/oxygen single cell.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Junjie Chen, Chunhui Shen, Shanjun Gao
Summary: Perfluorinated poly(diphenyl) graft polymers with alkoxy side chains of piperidinium quaternary ammonium salts were synthesized and showed a good microphase separation structure. The long side chain polymer (PF4) exhibited high ionic conductivity and low swelling ratio. Moreover, the anion exchange membranes prepared in this study demonstrated good alkaline stability and maintained their mechanical properties even after 1000 hours of immersion in 4 M NaOH solution. The PF4 also showed excellent performance in terms of voltage drop and resistance increase during long-term operation.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jia Hui Chen, Xi Bin Yue, Yvonne Shuen Lann Choo, Ze Yu, Xi Hao Wang, Xue Lang Gao, Wei Ting Gao, Qiu Gen Zhang, Ai Mei Zhu, Qing Lin Liu
Summary: In this study, alkaline fuel cell membranes based on poly (crown ether) (PCE) with different aliphatic chain lengths were successfully designed and prepared. The membranes with longer hydrophobic aliphatic chain segments exhibited nanophase separation and ionic cluster formation. The QAPCE-16C membrane, with a carbon number of sixteen, showed a well-connected ion cluster region and a distinct micro-morphology separation. It demonstrated a hydroxide conductivity of 125 mS cm-1 at 80 degrees C and 95.77% ionic conductivity retention after immersion in a 1 M sodium hydroxide solution for 960 hours.
JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Qiao Liu, Wenli Ma, Lin Tian, Junmin Li, Lincan Yang, Fanghui Wang, Zhiqian Wang, Jing Li, Zhongming Wang, Hong Zhu
Summary: In this study, a series of novel poly(biphenyl piperidinium) membranes with superior conductivity and stability were successfully synthesized by tethering cationic groups to the backbone utilizing flexible hydrophobic alkyl spacers with various lengths. The long-term alkali resistance of AEMs can be improved by extending the length of the flexible alkyl chains appropriately. These membranes exhibited excellent film-forming ability and tensile strength, well-defined microphase separation, and achieved high power density and low voltage decay rate in fuel cell applications.
JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Fei Xu, Ke Qiu, Jing Li, Bencai Lin, Jianning Ding
Summary: In this study, PPO-based cross-linked anion exchange membranes with flexible, long-chain, bis-imidazolium cation cross-linkers were designed and synthesized. These membranes exhibit high IEC values, low swelling degree, good mechanical strength, high conductivity, and high power density, making them potentially applicable in alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cells. Additionally, the BMImH-PPO samples showed good chemical stability under harsh conditions, with only minor decreases in IEC and conductivity, indicating their promising practical use.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Guangyao Jia, Zhengfang Zhu, Shining Li, Yu Lu, Yuanqin Zhu
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2019)
Article
Polymer Science
Liping Bi, Jiangjian Hong, Shining Li, Zhengfang Zhu, Yuanqin Zhu
JOURNAL OF POLYMER RESEARCH
(2019)
Article
Polymer Science
Shining Li, Jianrong Wu, Yuanqin Zhu
Summary: A novel class of clickable perfluorocyclobutyl (PFCB) aryl ether polymers containing azido groups has been successfully prepared with tunable azido contents and good solubility. These polymers may serve as a promising platform for developing new functional PFCB aryl ether polymers.
JOURNAL OF POLYMER RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Tongrui Zhang, Suting Weng, Xuefeng Wang, Zhijun Zhang, Yaling Gao, Ting Lin, Yuanqin Zhu, Wei Zhang, Chunwen Sun
Summary: Platinum-based catalysts are highly sought after for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), but their low efficiency and high cost pose challenges for commercialization. In this study, Pt atomic clusters were successfully anchored onto a support material using an environmentally friendly preparation strategy. The resulting catalyst exhibited excellent HER activity, high mass activity, and stability, making it a promising candidate for large-scale production and industrial applications.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Jinming Ge, Taipu Chen, Xiaofeng Wan, Lingfeng Lu, Ziqiang Liu, Shucheng Sun, Yuanqin Zhu
Summary: This study designed and synthesized an aromatic monomer-based anion exchange membrane with bulky aryl unit and symmetric dibrominated branches. The membrane, prepared via superacid-catalyzed polyhydroxyalkylation and Menshutkin reactions, showed high hydroxide conductivity and dimensional stability. It also exhibited high alkaline stability and achieved a peak power density of 407.8 mW cm(-2) in H-2-O-2 fuel cells. This work provides insights into the development of high-performance next-generation anion exchange membranes.
ACS APPLIED POLYMER MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Xiaofeng Wan, Xiangtai Wei, Jinming Ge, Lingfeng Lu, Ziqiang Liu, Yuanqin Zhu
Summary: A polymer with high hydroxide conductivity, dimensional stability, and mechanical stability was synthesized using a newly designed di-quaternized side-chain precursor. The resulting anion exchange membranes exhibited high conductivity, robust mechanical properties, and excellent alkaline stability. These membranes also demonstrated high power density in fuel cells.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
