Polybenzimidazole-crosslinked poly(vinylbenzyl chloride) with quaternary 1,4-diazabicyclo (2.2.2) octane groups as high-performance anion exchange membrane for fuel cells

Abstract Development of anion exchange membrane (AEM) with high conductivity, good dimensional stability, desirable toughness and long life-time simultaneously is still a challenge for the practical application of AEM fuel cells. Herein, a novel AEM (denoted as PBI-c-PVBC/OH) is fabricated by applying polybenzimidazole (PBI) and 1,4-diazabicyclo (2.2.2) octane (DABCO) as the macromolecular crosslinker and quaternizing reagent for poly(vinylbenzyl chloride) (PVBC), respectively. With the aid of crosslinking by PBI, PBI-c-PVBC/OH exhibits good flexibility and strength both in dry and water-saturated state. Moreover, high hydroxide conductivity (>25 mS cm −1 at room temperature) and low swelling ratio (∼13%) is obtained, especially the swelling ratio nearly does not increase with temperature. The membrane is also advanced for the superior chemical stability in alkaline environment due to the stable polymer backbone and ionic conductive group (only one nitrogen atom in a DABCO molecule is quaternized). Furthermore, a peak power density of 230 mW cm −2 at 50 °C is obtained on the H 2 /O 2 fuel cell using PBI-c-PVBC/OH, and the membrane presents high durability both in the constant current and continuous open circuit voltage testing. Therefore, it is considered that the PBI crosslinking together with DABCO quaternization can be regarded as a promising strategy in the development of AEM for fuel cells.