Segmented tetrasulfonated copoly(arylene ether sulfone)s: improving proton transport properties by extending the ionic sequence.

The morphologies and proton-transport efficiencies of segmented copoly(arylene ether sulfone) ionomers that contain tetrasulfonated sequences are compared with the corresponding copolymers with disulfonated sequences. Tetrasulfonated 4,4'-bis[(4-chlorophenyl)sulfonyl]-1,1'-biphenyl (sBCPSBP) is synthesized by metalation and sulfination. This new monomer is then used in K(2)CO(3)-mediated polycondensations of mixtures with 4,4'-dichlorodiphenyl sulfone (DCDPS) and 4,4'-dihydroxybiphenyl in dimethyl sulfoxide at 110 °C to prepare segmented copolymers with tetrasulfonated units. The corresponding disulfonated copolymers are prepared by using disulfonated DCDPS instead of sBCPSBP. Small-angle X-ray scattering measurements of the fully aromatic copolymer membranes show ionomer peaks that indicate significantly larger characteristic separation lengths of the tetrasulfonated copolymers compared to those of the corresponding disulfonated copolymers with similar ionic contents. This implies a much more efficient phase separation of the ionic groups in the segmented tetrasulfonated copolymer membranes, especially at low-to-medium ionic contents. The enhanced phase separation has a pronounced positive effect on water uptake characteristics and proton transport properties. Under a reduced relative humidity (RH), the tetrasulfonated copolymer membranes show a significantly higher conductivity than the disulfonated ones, particularly at low-to-medium ionic contents. At an ion-exchange capacity of 1 meq g(-1), the conductivity of the tetrasulfonated copolymer membrane at 30 % RH is higher than that of the disulfonated membrane at 90 % RH. Because of their relative ease of synthesis, segmented copolymers based on well-designed multisulfonated monomers may provide a viable alternative to the more complex sulfonated block and graft copolymers for use as fuel-cell membranes.

Polysulfone functionalized with phosphonated poly(pentafluorostyrene) grafts for potential fuel cell applications.

A multi-step synthetic strategy to polysulfone (PSU) grafted with phosphonated poly(pentafluorostyrene) (PFS) is developed. It involves controlled radical polymerization resulting in alkyne-end functional PFS. The next step is the modification of PSU with a number of azide side groups. The grafting of PFS onto PSU backbone is performed via the "click"-chemistry approach. In a final step, the PFS-grafts are subjected to the post phosphonation. The copolymers are evaluated as membranes for potential fuel cell applications through thermal analyses, water uptake, and conductivity measurements. The proposed synthetic route opens the possibility to tune copolymers' hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance to obtain membranes with an optimal balance between proton conductivity and mechanical properties.

Fully aromatic block copolymers for fuel cell membranes with densely sulfonated nanophase domains.

Two multiblock copoly(arylene ether sulfone)s with similar block lengths and ion exchange capacities (IECs) were prepared by a coupling reaction between a non-sulfonated precursor block and a highly sulfonated precursor block containing either fully disulfonated diarylsulfone or fully tetrasulfonated tetraaryldisulfone segments. The latter two precursor blocks were sulfonated via lithiation-sulfination reactions whereby the sulfonic acid groups were exclusively placed in ortho positions to the many sulfone bridges, giving these blocks IECs of 4.1 and 4.6 meq·g⁻¹, respectively. Copolymer membranes with IECs of 1.4 meq·g⁻¹ displayed well-connected hydrophilic nanophase domains and had decomposition temperatures at, or above, 300 °C under air. The copolymer with the tetrasulfonated tetraaryldisulfone segments showed a proton conductivity of 0.13 S·cm⁻¹ at 80 °C under fully humidified conditions, and surpassed that of a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane (NRE212) by a factor of 5 at -20 °C over time.

Facile Synthesis and Polymerization of 2,6-Difluoro-2'-sulfobenzophenone for Aromatic Proton Conducting Ionomers with Pendant Sulfobenzoyl Groups.

The lithium salt of 2,6-difluoro-2'-sulfobenzophenone was conveniently synthesized in one-pot by reacting 2,6-difluorophenyllithium with 2-sulfobenzoic acid cyclic anhydride in THF at -70 °C whereafter the product crystallized out of solution. A poly(arylene ether) and a poly(arylene sulfide) were prepared by polycondensation reactions to demonstrate the reactivity and efficacy of this new monomer to produce sulfonated high-molecular weight aromatic polymers for fuel cell proton-exchange membranes. This work demonstrated that organolithium chemistry may offer versatile and straightforward pathways to new functional monomers with fluorine atoms activated for nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions.