Chinese Journal of Applied Chemistry ›› 2022, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (12): 1783-1802.DOI: 10.19894/j.issn.1000-0518.220114

• Review •     Next Articles

Research Progress of Side-Chain Sulfonated Polyarylene Ether Proton Exchange Membranes

Tong CAO1,2, Jun PENG1,2, Yan FENG3, Xiao-Bo LIU1,2(), Yu-Min HUANG1,2()   

  1. 1.School of Materials and Energy,University of Electronic Science and Technology of China,Chengdu 611731,China
    2.Sichuan Province Engineering Technology Research Center of Novel CN Polymeric Materials,Chengdu 611731,China
    3.Shenzhen Extender Co. ,Ltd,Shenzhen 518103,China
  • Received:2022-04-07 Accepted:2022-09-04 Published:2022-12-01 Online:2022-12-13
  • Contact: Xiao-Bo LIU,Yu-Min HUANG
  • About author:hym@uestc.edu.cn
    liuxb@uestc.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21805027);Sichuan Science and Technology Program(2019YJ0197)

Abstract:

Fuel cell is a new type of energy conversion device using hydrogen, methanol, etc. as fuel, among which the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been widely used in mobile power, submarines and electric vehicles by virtue of its high energy power, fast start-up speed and long service life. Proton exchange membranes (PEM) have the greatest impact on the performance of PEMFC. Efficient PEMFC requires PEM with high proton conductivity, good thermal stability and mechanical properties, low fuel permeability and excellent physical and chemical stability. Most of the membranes currently used in the market are Nafion membranes with excellent proton conductivity, but they have disadvantages such as difficulty in preparation, expensive cost, and heavy dependence on humidity for proton conductivity, which limits their development to some extent. In order to make more options for proton exchange membranes, scientists have been focusing on using new materials to replace Nafion membranes. In recent years, scientists have simulated the Nafion structure by synthesizing various side chain polyaryl ether structures containing sulfonic acid groups, allowing the formation of microphase separation structures between hydrophilic sulfonic acid groups and hydrophobic groups, resulting in a series of proton exchange membranes with excellent overall performance. This paper focuses on the synthesis methods and properties of several common strategies, such as side chain alkyl sulfonated type, side chain sulfonated block type, side chain partially dense sulfonated type, side chain sulfonated cross-linked type and side chain sulfonated composite type. Finally, the advantages and development prospects of side chain sulfonated polyaryl ethers in the field of proton exchange membranes are reviewed.

Key words: Fuel cell, Proton exchange membrane, Side chain sulfonation, Proton conductivity

CLC Number: