Hori Kaishi, Miyanishi Shoji, Yamaguchi Takeo
Research Laboratory of Advanced Science & Technology, Corporate Research & Development, Asahi Kasei Corporation 2-1 Samejima, Fuji Shizuoka 416-8501 Japan.
Laboratory for Chemistry, Life Science Institute of Innovative Research, Science Tokyo R1-17, 4259, Midori-ku Yokohama Kanagawa 226-8503 Japan
RSC Adv. 2025 Aug 6;15(34):27924-27932. doi: 10.1039/d5ra04403k. eCollection 2025 Aug 1.
This study explores the development of novel cation exchange membranes (CEMs) by synthesizing alternating copolymers of perfluorosulfonic acid monomers and alkyl vinyl ethers with varying chain lengths. Unlike traditional Nafion-based CEMs, which form cluster-channel morphologies, the newly synthesized copolymers exhibit well-defined lamellar structures. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses revealed that increasing the alkyl chain length enhances the area of these structures. Moreover, self-diffusion coefficient measurements by PFG-NMR showed that water diffusivity increased with longer side chains, despite a decrease in ion exchange capacity (IEC). This inverse relationship highlights the importance of morphological control in optimizing membrane transport properties. The findings demonstrate that integrating hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon components enables the design of distinct phase-separated structures, expanding the landscape of structure-property relationships in ion-conducting materials. These insights offer new strategies for engineering high-performance membranes for energy and water-related applications.
本研究通过合成具有不同链长的全氟磺酸单体和烷基乙烯基醚的交替共聚物，探索新型阳离子交换膜（CEMs）的发展。与形成簇状通道形态的传统基于Nafion的CEMs不同，新合成的共聚物呈现出明确的层状结构。小角X射线散射（SAXS）和透射电子显微镜（TEM）分析表明，增加烷基链长度会增大这些结构的面积。此外，通过脉冲场梯度核磁共振（PFG-NMR）进行的自扩散系数测量表明，尽管离子交换容量（IEC）有所降低，但水扩散率随侧链变长而增加。这种反比关系突出了形态控制在优化膜传输性能中的重要性。研究结果表明，整合碳氢化合物和碳氟化合物成分能够设计出独特的相分离结构，拓展了离子导电材料中结构-性能关系的范畴。这些见解为设计用于能源和水相关应用的高性能膜提供了新策略。
