UV irradiation-induced cross-linked bicarbonate anion exchange membranes based on vinylimidazolium-functionalized poly(arylene ether ketone)

A novel cross-linking strategy for imidazolium-functionalized poly(arylene ether ketone) containing tetramethyl groups, used as anion exchange membranes, is presented in this paper. The preparation of anion exchange membranes comprised of converting benzylic methyl to bromomethyl groups by a radical reaction, quaternization of the bromometylated poly(arylene ether ketone) with 1-vinylimidazole and subsequent anion exchange reaction. The photo-crosslinking reaction, induced by UV-light under the activation of a photo-initiator, was simple and controllable compared to the conventional cross-linking process via a multifunctional cross-linking agent. All the vinylimidazolium-founctionalized poly(arylene ether ketone) membranes showed good mechanical and thermal stabilities. Moreover, the cross-linked membranes exhibited better dimensional stabilities. The ionic conductivity of cross-linked membranes was still acceptable although that property decreased with UV irradiation time due to the compact cross-linked structure. For example, the VImPAEK-15 min-HCO3 membrane with irradiation time of 15 min showed a moderate bicarbonate anion conductivity of 0.021 S cm−1 and a low swelling ratio of 10.74% at 70 °C. The alkaline stability test under both high and relatively low alkaline conditions was carried out. Although the vinylimidazolium cation is unstable in strong alkaline solution, the cross-linked vinylimidazolium-based membranes are chemically stable in the bicarbonate anion form under relatively low alkaline conditions. The results showed that the cross-linked membrane induced by UV irradiation could be used for electrochemical devices that were operated at less extreme pHs.