Free‐standing hybrid anion‐exchange membranes for application in fuel cells

A series of free-standing hybrid anion-exchange membranes were prepared by blending brominated poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (BPPO) with poly(vinylbenzyl chloride-co-γ-methacryloxypropyl trimethoxy silane) (poly(VBC-co-γ-MPS)). Apart from a good compatibility between organic and inorganic phases, the hybrid membranes had a water uptake of 32.4–51.8%, tensile strength around 30 MPa, and Td temperature at 5% weight loss around 243–261°C. As compared with the membrane prepared from poly (VBC-co-γ-MPS), the hybrid membranes exhibited much better flexibility, and larger ion-exchange capacity (2.19–2.27 mmol g−1) and hydroxyl (OH−) conductivity (0.0067–0.012 S cm−1). In particular, the hybrid membranes with 60–75 wt % BPPO had the optimum water uptake, miscibility between components, and OH− conductivity, and were promising for application in fuel cells. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012

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