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Highly Stable, Low Gas Crossover, Proton‐Conducting Phenylated Polyphenylenes
Author(s) -
Adamski Michael,
Skalski Thomas J. G.,
Britton Benjamin,
Peckham Timothy J.,
Metzler Lukas,
Holdcroft Steven
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201703916
Subject(s) - ionomer , nafion , membrane , conductivity , proton exchange membrane fuel cell , proton , materials science , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , electrochemistry , proton transport , polymer , chemistry , electrode , composite material , copolymer , biochemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Abstract Two classes of novel sulfonated phenylated polyphenylene ionomers are investigated as polyaromatic‐based proton exchange membranes. Both types of ionomer possess high ion exchange capacities yet are insoluble in water at elevated temperatures. They exhibit high proton conductivity under both fully hydrated conditions and reduced relative humidity, and are markedly resilient to free radical attack. Fuel cells constructed with membrane‐electrode assemblies containing each ionomer membrane yield high in situ proton conductivity and peak power densities that are greater than obtained using Nafion reference membranes. In situ chemical stability accelerated stress tests reveal that this class of the polyaromatic membranes allow significantly lower gas crossover and lower rates of degradation than Nafion benchmark systems. These results point to a promising future for molecularly designed sulfonated phenylated polyphenylenes as proton‐conducting media in electrochemical technologies.