Imidazolium-functionalized poly (arylene ether ketone) cross-linked anion exchange membranes

A series of phenolphthalein-based poly (arylene ether ketone) (PEK) copolymer are synthesized to prepare anion exchange membranes (AEMs). The ion group 1-vinyl imidazole is introduced on the unit of phenolphthalein-based as a hydrophilic segment and cross-linking agent. The structure of resulting membranes was investigated by 1H NMR and FT-IR. The well-defined microphase-separated structures were verified by TEM and SAXS profiles. The cross-linked membrane of ImPEK-0.4 exhibits high hydroxide conductivity (0.0836 S/cm, at 80 °C), excellent mechanical performance (69.6 MPa) and the maximum swelling ratio is only 7.95% at 80 °C. Furthermore, the excellent alkaline stability is demonstrated by immersing the prepared membrane in 1 M NaOH at 40 °C for 400 h. The ionic conductivity is still high to 0.0381 S/cm for ImPEK-0.4. These results indicate that combining phase separation architecture and crosslinking may possess potential applications for alkaline fuel cells (AFCs).