title: Considerations of the Effects of Naphthalene Moieties on the Design of Proton-Conductive Poly(arylene ether ketone) Membranes for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells.
abstract: Novel sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketones) (SDN-PAEK-x), consisting of dual naphthalene and flexible sulfoalkyl groups, were prepared via polycondensation, demethylation, and sulfobutylation grafting reaction. Among them, SDN-PAEK-1.94 membrane with the highest ion exchange capacity (IEC = 2.46 mequiv·g(-1)) exhibited the highest proton conductivity, which was 0.147 S· cm(-1) at 25 °C and 0.271 S·cm(-1) at 80 °C, respectively. The introduction of dual naphthalene moieties is expected to achieve much enhanced properties compared to those of sulfonated poly(arylene ether ketones) (SNPAEK-x), consisting of single naphthalene and flexible sulfoalkyl groups. Compared with SNPAEK-1.60 with a similar IEC, SDN-PAEK-1.74 membrane showed higher proton conductivity, higher IEC normalized conductivity, and higher effective proton mobility, although it had lower analytical acid concentration. The SDN-PAEK-x membranes with IECs higher than 1.96 mequiv·g(-1) also exhibited higher proton conductivity than that of recast Nafion membrane. Furthermore, SDN-PAEK-1.94 displayed a better single cell performance with a maximum power density of 60 mW·cm(-2) at 80 °C. Considering its high proton conductivity, excellent single cell performance, good mechanical stabilities, low membrane swelling, and methanol permeability, SDN-PAEK-x membranes are promising candidates as alternative polymer electrolyte membranes to Nafion for direct methanol fuel cell applications.
authors.affiliation: Alan G. MacDiarmid Institute, College of Chemistry, Jilin University , Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Baolong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Alan G. MacDiarmid Institute, College of Chemistry, Jilin University , Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China.|Department of Endodontics and Operative Dentistry, Stomatological Hospital, Jilin University , Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Alan G. MacDiarmid Institute, College of Chemistry, Jilin University , Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yunfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Alan G. MacDiarmid Institute, College of Chemistry, Jilin University , Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontics and Operative Dentistry, Stomatological Hospital, Jilin University , Changchun 130021, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yuxue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Alan G. MacDiarmid Institute, College of Chemistry, Jilin University , Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chengji
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Alan G. MacDiarmid Institute, College of Chemistry, Jilin University , Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Na
keywords: fuel cell; naphathalene moieties; poly(arylene ether ketone); polymer electrolyte membranes; proton conductivity; sulfoalkyl groups