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Water in different poly(styrene sulfonic acid)‐grafted fluoropolymers
Author(s) -
Walsby Nadia,
Hietala Sami,
Maunu Sirkka Liisa,
Sundholm Franciska,
Kallio Tanja,
Sundholm Göran
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.10832
Subject(s) - fluoropolymer , membrane , sulfonic acid , nafion , styrene , polymer chemistry , swelling , materials science , differential scanning calorimetry , chemical engineering , conductivity , polystyrene , bound water , chemistry , polymer , copolymer , composite material , organic chemistry , molecule , electrochemistry , biochemistry , engineering , thermodynamics , physics , electrode
Abstract We investigated the water present in a series of radiation‐grafted fluoropolymers with similar poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PSSA) contents with the aim of determining the influence of the initial fluoropolymer. Radiation‐grafted membranes were compared with Nafion 117 and 105. Sorption curves and differential scanning calorimetry thermograms showed that all the membranes contained the same number of water molecules tightly bound to the sulfonic acid groups; this water did not freeze. In radiation‐grafted membranes, the content of freezing water absorbed from the liquid‐phase water varied according to the swelling abilities of the membrane, which were dependent on the initial fluoropolymer. Larger pores accompanied high water uptakes and high conductivity. The amount of water absorbed from the vapor phase was similar for all radiation‐grafted membranes with similar PSSA contents, irrespective of matrix material. Nafion membranes had higher conductivities at intermediate hydration levels, and the relaxation times measured by NMR were longer than for the radiation‐grafted materials. This suggests that the channels for water and proton conduction are different in the two types of materials. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 33–42, 2002