State of the water in crosslinked sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone). Two-dimensional differential scanning calorimetry correlation mapping

Abstract This paper reports the first application of two-dimensional differential scanning calorimetry correlation mapping, 2D-DSC-CM to analyze the heat flow responses of sulphonated poly(ether ether ketone), sPEEK, films having different ion exchange capacity and degrees of crosslinks. With the help of high resolution and high sensitivity of 2D-DSC-CM, it was possible to locate two types of loosely bound water within the structure of crosslinked sPEEK. The first was bound to the sulfonic acid groups and dependent on the ion exchange capacity of the sPEEK. The second was bound to other polar groups, either introduced by irradiation with ions and dependent on the crosslinking degree or present in the polymer such as the carbonyl groups or terminal units. The results suggest that the ability of the sulfonic acid groups in the crosslinked sPEEK membranes to adsorb water molecules is increased by crosslinking, probably due to the better close packing efficiency of the crosslinked samples. DSC combined with 2D correlation mapping provides a fast and powerful tool for polymer structural determination.