Synthesis and Characterization of Sulfonated Cardo Poly(Arylene Ether Sulfone)s for Fuel Cell Proton Exchange Membrane Application

Sulfonated cardo poly(arylene ether sulfone)s (SPPA-PES) with various degrees of sulfonation (DS) were prepared by post-sulfonation of synthesized phenolphthalein anilide (PPA; N-phenyl-3,3'-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1-isobenzopyrolidone) poly(arylene ether sulfone)s (PPA-PES) by using concentrated sulfuric acid. PPA-PES copolymers were synthesized by direct polycondensation of PPA with bis-(4-fluorophenyl)-sulfone and 4,4'-sulfonyldiphenol. The DS was varied with different mole ratios of PPA (24, 30, 40, 50?mol.%) in the polymer. The structure of the resulting SPPA-PES copolymers and the different contents of the sulfonated unit were studied by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, 1H NMR spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Sorption experiments were conducted to observe the interaction of sulfonated polymer with water. The ion exchange capacity (IEC) and proton conductivity of SPPA-PES were evaluated according to the increase of DS. The water uptake (WU) of the resulting SPPA-PES membranes was in the range of 2072%, compared with 28% for Nafion 211 (R). The SPPA-PES membranes showed proton conductivities of 2382?mS?cm1, compared with 194?mS?cm1 for Nafion 211 (R), under 100% relative humidity (RH) at 80?degrees C.