6533b853fe1ef96bd12abf13

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Hydration Behaviour of Sufonated Polyetheretherketone (SPEEK) Membranes

Elīna SalaElīna ĀBoltiņaKaspars VeldreGuntars Vaivars

subject

Materials scienceMechanical Engineering02 engineering and technologyWater sorption010402 general chemistry021001 nanoscience & nanotechnologymedicine.disease01 natural sciences0104 chemical scienceschemistry.chemical_compoundMembraneChemical engineeringchemistryMechanics of MaterialsIonic liquidmedicineGeneral Materials ScienceDehydration0210 nano-technology

description

Polymer electrolyte membranes (PEM) have a potential to become power sources in automotive industry and other household applications. PEM such as sulfonated polyetheretherketone (SPEEK) have acceptable operating temperature range but proton conductivity is dependent on amount of sulfonic groups attached to the polymer backbone (degree of sulfonation). At the same time, the sulfonic groups cause sorption of water from surrounding vapour or liquid. This factor may lead to mechanical failure if membrane absorbs too much water. Modification of PEM by adding ionic liquids (IL) may provide good proton conductivity but presence of water could also be critical factor of membrane stability as in high humidity conditions IL are washed out of membrane and replaced by water molecules. PEM with IL inclusions could be potentially used at temperatures close to water boiling point and higher as IL used in this research are thermally stable in temperatures up to 200°C.

https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.762.220