Issue 15, 2022

Dimensionally stable multication-crosslinked poly(arylene piperidinium) membranes for water electrolysis

Abstract

Cross-linking is a widely employed process to improve the dimensional stability of anion exchange membranes (AEMs). However, crosslinking often comes at the expense of ion exchange capacity and ionic conductivity. To address this “trade-off” problem, we introduce a multication crosslinker composed of two piperidinium groups and a flexible alkyl chain to fabricate novel crosslinked poly(arylene piperidinium)-based AEMs (C-IL-x). It is found that multication crosslinkers can promote the fabrication of micro-phase separated morphology and construct highly efficient ion conducting pathways inside the membrane. Compared to the non-crosslinked AEM, the conductivity and dimensional stability of crosslinked C-IL-x AEMs were improved simultaneously. The highest ionic conductivity of the crosslinked C-IL-x AEMs reaches up to 95 mS cm−2 at 80 °C. In addition, alkaline water electrolysis using the C-IL-100 AEM (100 refers to the expected crosslinking degree) exhibits a high current density of 880 mA cm−2 at 2.2 V in 1 M KOH solution with Ni-based catalysts, which confirms that multication crosslinked AEMs are promising for application in alkaline water electrolysis.

Graphical abstract: Dimensionally stable multication-crosslinked poly(arylene piperidinium) membranes for water electrolysis

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Dec 2021
Accepted
03 Mar 2022
First published
04 Mar 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022,10, 8401-8412

Dimensionally stable multication-crosslinked poly(arylene piperidinium) membranes for water electrolysis

X. Wang and R. G. H. Lammertink, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2022, 10, 8401 DOI: 10.1039/D1TA10820D

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