title: Nafion-Initiated ATRP of 1-Vinylimidazole for Preparation of Proton Exchange Membranes.
abstract: Nafion is one of the most widely investigated materials applied in proton exchange membranes. Interestingly, it was found that Nafion could serve as a macroinitiator to induce atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) on its C-F sites. In this study, poly(1-vinylimidazole) was selectively bonded on the side chains of Nafion via the Nafion-initiated ATRP process, which was confirmed by the measurements of (1)H/(19)F nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimeter and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight/time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The as-prepared Nafion-co-poly(1-vinylimidazole) (Nafion-PVIm) membranes, with tunable loading amount of imidazole rings, presented greatly enhanced proton conductivity and methanol resistivity due to their well-controlled chemical structures. Especially, chemically bonding PVIm with Nafion chains endowed the Nafion-PVIm membranes with high stability in proton conductivity. For the first time, we revealed the great potentials of the Nafion-initiated ATRP process in developing high-performance proton exchange membranes.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Collaborative Innovation Center of Polymers and Polymer Composite Materials, Department of Macromolecular Science and Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Fudan University , Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Taiyuan 030001, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Beibei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Taiyuan 030001, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Nanwen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Collaborative Innovation Center of Polymers and Polymer Composite Materials, Department of Macromolecular Science and Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Fudan University , Shanghai 200433, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Peiyi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wu
keywords: Nafion; atom transfer radical polymerization; fuel cell; imidazole; proton exchange membrane