• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.457-466
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• 2008

The relation between the phase separated morphologies and their transport properties in the polymer blend membrane for direct methanol fuel cell application was studied. In order to enhance the proton conductivity and reduce the methanol crossover, sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymer, with a sulfonation of 60 mol% (sPAES-60), was blended with nonsulfonated poly(ether sulfone) copolymer (RH-2000, Solvay). Various morphologies were obtained by varying the drying condition and the concentration of the casting solution (10, 15, 20 wt%). The transport properties of proton and methanol molecule through the polymer blend membranes were studied according to the absorbed water. AC impedance spectroscopy was used to measure the proton conductivity and a liquid permeability measuring instrument was designed to measure the methanol permeability. The state of water in the blend membranes was confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry and was used to correlate the morphology of the membrane with the membrane transport properties.

• Proceedings of the Korean Powder Metallurgy Institute Conference
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• 2006.09a
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• pp.487-488
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• 2006

Novel bisphenol-based wholly aromatic poly(ether sulfone-ketone) copolymer containing pendant sulfonate groups were prepared by direct aromatic nucleophilic substitution polycondensation of 4,4-difluorobenzophenone, 2,2'-disodiumsulfonyl-4,4'-fluorophenylsulfone (40mole% of bisphenol A) and bisphenol A. Polymerization proceeded quantitatively to high molecular weight in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone at $180^{\circ}C$. Organic-inorganic composite membranes were obtained by mixing organic polymers with hydrophilic $SiO_2$ (ca. 20nm) obtained by sol-gel process. The polymer and a series of composite membranes were studied by FT-IR, $^1HNMR$, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal stability. The proton conductivity as a function of temperature decreased as $SiO_2$ content increased, but methanol permeability decreased. The nano composite membranes were found to posse all requisite properties; Ion exchange capacity (1.2meq./g), glass transition temperatures $(164-183\;^{\circ}C)$, and low affinity towards methanol $(4.63-1.08{\times}10^{-7}\;cm^2/S)$.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.182-188
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• 2017

Sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES)-3-mercaptopropyl silica gel (3MPTSG) composite membranes with improved oxidative stability were prepared for polymer electrolyte fuel cell application. It has been reported that ether part of main chain of aromatic hydrocarbon based membranes were weak to radical attack to decrease membrane durability. In this study, the hydrophilic inorganic particles were introduced by minimizing a decrease in ion conductivity and increasing an oxidative stability. The composite membranes were investigated in terms of ionic conductivity, ion exchange capacity (IEC), FT-IR, TGA and contact angle, etc. As a result, increasing amount of the 3MPTSG resulted in decrease in proton conductivities and water uptakes at 100% R.H. but enhanced thermal and oxidative stabilities.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2011

Partially fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfone) block ionomer membranes with different branch degree for fuel cell applications were investigated. A sulfonable monomer, a non-sulfonable monomer and a trifunctional branching agent were synthesized and the sulfonable monomer was oligomerized to obtain block structures. The oligomer was then further polymerized with the non-sulfonable monomer and the branching agent. The mole ratio of oligomer : non-sulfonable monomer was fixed at 4:6 and the content of the branching agent was varied from 0 to 2 mol% (BBC-40Bx). Post-sulfonation of BBC-40Bx was carried out using chlorosulfonic acid (CSA) (SBBC-40Bx). All the synthesized compounds were characterized by $^1H$-NMR, $^{19}F$-NMR and FT-IR. It was confirmed that the ion exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake and ion conductivity of SBBC-40Bx increased with the increment of branching agent content.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.227-236
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• 2019

In this work, preparation and characterizations of hybrid membranes containing sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPES) and sulfonated poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (SPVdF-co-HFP) (20, 30 or 40 wt%) were carried out. The structure of hybrid membranes was confirmed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and the Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The prepared SPAES/SPVdF-30 membrane exhibits higher ionic conductivity of 68.9 mS/cm at $90^{\circ}C$ and 100% RH. Besides, the other studies showed that the hybrid membrane has good oxidation stability, thermal stability, and mechanical stability. Thus, we believe that the prepared hybrid membrane is suitable for the development of membranes for fuel cell applications.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.278-289
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• 2010

A series of composite membranes based on sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES) were prepared via addition of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and solution casting method. The morphological structure, water uptake, proton conductivity of the resulting composite membranes were extensively investigated as function of the content of TEOS. By the sol-gel reaction, TEOS molecules were not completely converted to $SiO_2$ particles, but formed only oligomer-type. Also, EDS confirms that the resulting silicon dioxide was homogeneously distributed in the composite membranes. As the content of TEOS increased, the prepared membranes increased water uptake and proton conductivity at high temperature and low relative humidity condition. In particular, considerably high proton conductivity (0.015 S/cm) at $120^{\circ}C$ and 48%RH was demonstrated in the composite membrane containing 200% TEOS, which is 10 times greater than that of unmodified SPAES membrane. Also, the composite membranes were found to have enhanced thermal stability compared to the unmodified membrane.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2011

Composite membranes based on sulfonated poly(aryl ether) sulfone (SPAES) with different sulfated zirconia nanoparticles ($s-ZrO_2$) ratio are synthesized and investigated for the improvement of the hydration and the proton conductivity at high temperature and no humidification for fuel cell applications. X-ray diffraction technique is employed to characterize the structure and the size of $s-ZrO_2$ nanoparticles. The sulfation effect of $s-ZrO_2$ nanoparticles is verified by FT-IR analysis. The properties of the SPAES composite membranes with the various $s-ZrO_2$ ratio are evaluated by ion exchange capacity and water content. The proton conductivities of the composite membranes are estimated at room temperature with full hydration and at the various high temperature without external humidification. The composite membrane with 5 wt% $s-ZrO_2$ shows the highest proton conductivity. The proton conductivities are $0.9292\;S\;cm^{-1}$ at room temperature with full hydration and $0.0018\;S\;cm^{-1}$ at $120^{\circ}C$ without external humidification, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.68-71
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• 2004

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.188-192
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• 2003

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.168-171
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• 2008