2008 Annual Meeting

(723m) Supramolecular Proton Exchange Membranes

Authors

Alan Fuchs - Presenter, University of Nevada, Reno
Joko Sutrisno, University of Nevada, Reno
Cahit Evrensel, University of Nevada, Reno
Faramarz Gordaninejad, University of Nevada, Reno
Barkan Kavlicoglu, University of Nevada, Reno
Yanming Liu, University of Nevada, Reno
Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) were prepared using Polybenzimidazole (PBI) copolymer synthesized from isophtalic acid and 3,3'-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride dehydrate which produce a hydrophobic block. Hydrophilic polyamide (PA) blocks were synthesized from isophtalic acid and 4,4'-diamino-2,2'-biphenyldisulfonic acid. The addition of pentadecylphenol (PDP) forms supramolecular structures via phase separation (hydrophilic – hydrophobic). Composite membranes were also synthesized from polyamic acid and organoclay treated acid. The supramolecular sulfonated-PA / PDP / PBI membrane was tested in both the tangential and radial directions. Proton conductivity for this membrane is 3.3 x 10-3 S/cm in the tangential direction and 1.03 x 10-3 S/cm in the radial direction. In addition, proton conductivity for the composite membrane is 2.56.10-2 S/cm (80 oC).