End-group crosslinked hexafluorobenzene contained anion exchange membranes

Abstract A kind of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) with C C bond end-group crosslinked structure was synthesized successfully. Unlike the traditional aliphatic AEMs, the AEMs were prepared in this work by a strategy to realize the C C bond thermal end-group crosslinking reaction, exhibiting an obvious microphase separation structure and a suitable dimensional stability. The well-defined ion channels constructed in the AEMs guarantee the fast OH− conduction, as confirmed via physical and chemical characterization. The conductivity was dramatically enhanced due to the effective ion channels and increased ion exchange capacity. Among the as-prepared AEMs, the PHFB-VBC-DQ-80% AEM has a conductivity of 135.80 mS cm−1 at 80 °C. The single cell based on PHFB-VBC-DQ-80% can achieve a power density of 141.7 mW cm−2 at a current density of 260 mA cm−2 at 80 °C. The AEMs show good thermal stability verified by a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Furthermore, the ionic conductivity of PHFB-VBC-DQ-80% only decreased by 7.1% after being soaked in a 2 M NaOH solution at 80 °C for 500 h.