Synthetic approaches for advanced multi-block anion exchange membranes

Abstract

Despite our ability to post-functionalize poly(arylene ether sulfone) multi-block copolymers by rapid chloromethylation, bromination, or acylation, with degrees of functionalization that exceeded 70% in a few hours, materials formed during attempts to prepare fully post-functionalized multi-block copolymers are poorly soluble due to undesired side reactions, such as crosslinking or di-bromination. In particular, clustered reactive sites in multi-block copolymers increase the chance of self-reactions between polymer backbones, resulting in the formation of by-products. On the other hand, the authentic multi-block copolymer with good solubility and high molecular weight was successfully synthesized using functionalized monomers. Despite its low ion-exchange capacity, the resulting multi-block copolymer outperformed the commercial FAA-3-30 membrane in terms of anion conductivity, even under low relative humidity conditions.