Preparing alkaline anion exchange membrane with enhanced hydroxide conductivity via blending imidazolium-functionalized and sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)

The development of alkaline anion exchange membrane (AEM) with both high ion conductivity and stabilities is of great significance for fuel cell applications. In this study, a facile acid-base blending method is designed to improve AEM performances. Basic imidazolium-functionalized poly (ether ether ketone) with a high functionalization degree is employed as polymer matrix to pursue high ion-exchange capacity (IEC) as well as high hydroxide conductivity, meanwhile acidic sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) is employed as the cross-linking agent to enhance the stabilities of the blend membranes. Particularly, an in-situ Menshutkin/crosslinking method is exploited to prevent the flocculation in the preparation process of blend membranes. As a result, dense and defect-free blend membranes are obtained. The blend membranes exhibit high level of IEC up to 3.15 mmol g-1, and consequently possess elevated hydroxide conductivity up to 31.59 mS cm-1 at 30°C. In addition, benefiting from the strong electrostatic interaction introduced by the acid-base blending, the stabilities and methanol resistance of blend membranes are enhanced.