Article
Polymer Science
Yanhui Wang, Pei Chen, Qiang Weng, Xinbing Chen, Zhongwei An
Summary: Semi-interpenetrating polymer network (sIPN) proton exchange membranes prepared from sulfonated polyimides and cross-linkable sulfonated poly(arylene ether)s showed significantly higher performance due to the interlocked structures. The sIPN membrane sIPN-SPAEK(2/1)-SPI exhibited good mechanical properties, high stability, reasonably high proton conductivity, and low methanol permeability.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Di Liu, Bo Dong, Haibo Zhang, Yunji Xie, Jinhui Pang, Zhenhua Jiang
Summary: Semi-crystalline PEK-SPx membranes, consisting of a crystalline poly(ether ketone) main chain and densely sulfonated side chain, exhibit excellent dimensional stability and methanol resistance. PEK-SP20 membrane shows stable performance in pure methanol, making it suitable for direct methanol fuel cells.
JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Minghan Xu, Hao Xue, Qingfu Wang, Lichao Jia
Summary: Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are potential clean energy sources attracting attention, with a focus on developing high-performance, low-cost PEMs to replace benchmark Nafion membranes. Sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketone)s (SPAEKs) and sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)s (SPAESs) are promising candidates due to their performance and cost advantages. Efforts are classified and introduced in developing SPAEK and SPAES membranes for promising research directions in the field.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Alphonse Haragirimana, Na Li, Zhaoxia Hu, Shouwen Chen
Summary: This study investigates the effect of thermal crosslinking on SPEEK/SPAES membranes, showing that the thermally-crosslinked membranes exhibit excellent physicochemical and electrochemical performance, indicating potential applications in fuel cells.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Di Liu, Yunji Xie, Jundong Zhong, Fan Yang, Jinhui Pang, Zhenhua Jiang
Summary: In this study, three sulfonated and semi-crystalline poly(ether ketone)-type copolymers with differing lengths of densely sulfonated microblocks were synthesized and evaluated as proton exchange membranes. It was found that increasing the length of the hydrophilic sulfonated microblock improved the proton conduction of the membranes, while expanding the size of the hydrophobic poly(ether ketone) block enhanced the dimensional stability and resistance properties. The tCr-SPEK membrane with the longest hydrophilic microblock and maximum crystallinity exhibited the best comprehensive performance and potential for application in direct methanol fuel cells.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jing Li, Fei Xu, Yanbo Chen, Yuyang Han, Bencai Lin
Summary: A series of sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)(SPEEK)-based ionic exchange membranes were prepared by introducing sulfonated Schiff base network-type (SSNW-1) covalent organic frameworks. The membranes showed enhanced properties for application in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs), with reduced vanadium permeability and improved efficiency.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Polymer Science
Minglin Zhao, Jianfeng Xu, Jianan Zhao, Shanshan Sun, Wenbin Tang, Qinghong Huang, Nengfei Yu, Yuping Wu
Summary: In this study, a novel composite membrane was developed by incorporating MnO2 nanorod into SPEEK matrix to improve its durability. The composite membrane with 2.5% MnO2 loading showed a 4 times longer start broken-up time in Fenton's solution compared to pure SPEEK membrane, indicating the enhanced durability. In DMFC test, the SPEEK-2.5% MnO2 membrane exhibited a higher max power density of 24 mW cm-2 (at 8 M methanol and 25 degrees C) and better durability, showing the potential of SPEEK-MnO2 composite membrane for fuel cell application.
Article
Materials Science, Composites
Feng Gao, Renbo Wei, Lingyun Zhou, Wei Luo, Zhiqiang Li, Lingyun Pang, Shuang Li, Xiufu Hua, Lingling Wang
Summary: This study synthesized SPEN@CCTO/PEN nanocomposites by modifying hydroxylated CCTO with SPEN and integrating it into the PEN matrix. The nanomaterials effectively prevented agglomeration of CCTO and improved interfacial adhesion, resulting in superior dielectric characteristics and energy storage density. Furthermore, the excellent mechanical properties make SPEN@CCTO/PEN a promising flexible dielectric material for future applications.
POLYMER COMPOSITES
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Hu-Geun Kwon, Insung Bae, Seong-Ho Choi
Summary: Crosslinked poly(arylene ether ketone) membranes were synthesized for use in non-aqueous redox flow batteries, resulting in improved cell efficiency.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Electrochemistry
Yu Bai, Min Xiao, Zhiheng Huang, Dongmei Han, Chengxin Wang, Shuanjin Wang, Yuezhong Meng
Summary: A series of composite polymer membranes have been developed with enhanced mechanical integrity and superior oxidative stability, suitable for high temperature-proton exchange membrane fuel cells applications. These membranes exhibit satisfactory proton conductivity and higher tensile strength compared to the pristine OPBI, reaching a maximum conductivity of 0.050 S cm(-1) and a tensile strength of 24.7 MPa. The optimized OPBI-SPFEK-10% composite membrane shows a peak power density of 727 mW cm(-2) at 160 degrees C, which is 21% higher than that of the pristine OPBI.
JOURNAL OF THE ELECTROCHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yifan Xia, Hailin Yu, Chengyun Yuan, Yinghan Wang
Summary: The evaluation of in situ crosslinked membranes for VRFB applications shows that the crosslinked structure effectively improves membrane performance, leading to higher energy efficiency and stability.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Merve G. Seden, Emre Basturk, Tulay Y. Inan, Nilhan K. Apohan, Atilla Gungor
Summary: In this study, molecular weight-controlled and fluorine-containing polyarylethers (MWCPAEs) were synthesized and blend membranes with excellent properties were prepared through sulfonation and blending. The chemical, mechanical, thermal, and hydrolytic properties of the blend membranes are comparable to or better than Nafion.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Lukka Thuyavan Yogarathinam, Juhana Jaafar, Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, Pei Sean Goh, Arthanareeswaran Gangasalam, Mohamad Fahrul Radzi Hanifah, Kar Chun Wong, Mahesan Naidu Subramaniam, Jerome Peter
Summary: Nanostructured materials, such as polyaniline coated activated boron nitride, have been embedded in sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) membranes to enhance proton conductivity and reduce methanol permeability in direct methanol fuel cell applications. The addition of functionalized boron nitride improves water uptake, ion exchange capacity, and chemical stability of the membranes, while significantly reducing methanol permeability. These nanocomposite membranes exhibit improved performance compared to commercial Nafion membranes, with higher open circuit voltage and power density.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Polymer Science
Yunji Xie, Anna Ringuette, Di Liu, Jinhui Pang, Hatice Mutlu, Dominik Voll, Patrick Theato
Summary: The effects of degree of branching and ion exchange capacity on the properties of sulfonated branched polymer proton exchange membranes (PEMs) were systematically compared. Increasing the degree of branching and ion exchange capacity improved water absorption, proton conductivity, single-cell performance, and distribution of hydrophilic phase, but reduced mechanical properties. Increasing the degree of branching also enhanced dimensional stability and oxidative stability, while the impact of ion exchange capacity was the opposite. The optimal polymer membrane had a degree of branching of 7.5% and ion exchange capacity of 1.94 meq g-1, exhibiting the highest proton conductivity and maximum power density, satisfactory dimensional change, and sufficient thermal, oxidative, and mechanical stability. This work serves as a guide for designing and synthesizing sulfonated branched polymer PEMs.
EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Syarifah N. S. S. Daud, Muhammad N. A. M. Norddin, Juhana Jaafar, Rubita Sudirman
Summary: Hot-pressing was used to integrate PEM and AEM into BPM, with sPEEK/PES and cQAPEEK as the electrolytes. The central composite design of response surface methodology was employed to analyze the effect of hot-press conditions on membrane adhesion and properties. The optimized temperature and gauge pressure were found to be 120 degrees C and 3 tonnes/square inch, resulting in a high power density for the sPEEK/PES-cQAPEEK BPM.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENERGY RESEARCH
(2021)