Sulfonated fluorinated-aromatic polymers as proton exchange membranes

Abstract

In recent years, extensive research on the preparation and properties of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) has been realized. This article focusses on the recent studies on new PEM materials based on aromatic hydrocarbon polymers with sulfonated groups as hydrophilic domains and fluorinated groups as hydrophobic domains as alternatives to conventional perfluorinated polymers. It is necessary to improve the proton conductivity especially under low-humidity conditions and at high operating temperatures to break through the current aromatic PEM system. Hence, there is a need to develop new high-conductivity fuel cell ionomers with improved thermal, chemical, and electrochemical stability by designing a suitable polymer structure for PEM application.