POS9-1619
Design of Hydrocarbon Polymer Exchange Membranes with Tunable Interstitial Alkyl Chain Lengths for Enhanced Electrochemical Performance
Topic
S9. Polymer Technology for Sustainability
When and Where
Sep 30, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Heesuk KIM
Jinhye BAE
Presenter(s)
Yerim Lee (korea Institute of Science and Technology)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) is a promising platform for green hydrogen production due to its compatibility with non-precious metal catalysts and alkaline operation. However, hydrocarbon-based membranes still face limitations in achieving both high ion transport efficiency and sufficient polymer chain flexibility.
In this work, we designed hydrocarbon anion exchange membranes by introducing interstitial alkyl side chains into poly(fluorene-based aryl alkyl) polymers with quaternary ammonium groups (PFAA-QA). By systematically tuning the alkyl chain length, we established a clear relationship between polymer structure and electrochemical performance. Thermal analysis revealed that increasing alkyl chain length reduced the glass transition temperature (Tg), indicating enhanced chain mobility, which in turn facilitated more efficient ion transport pathways within the membrane.
The electrochemical performance was evaluated in an AEMWE single-cell under non-PGM catalyst conditions and benchmarked against the commercial PiperION membrane. The optimized PFAA-QA membrane outperformed the commercial membrane under identical operating conditions, achieving a current density of 5.64 A cm⁻² at 2.0 V.
These results demonstrate that interstitial alkyl side chain engineering is an effective strategy for enhancing polymer chain dynamics and electrochemical performance in hydrocarbon-based anion exchange membranes. Furthermore, we will systematically investigate how alkyl side chain incorporation and chain length modulation influence both the performance and durability of AEMs in AEMWE systems.
In this work, we designed hydrocarbon anion exchange membranes by introducing interstitial alkyl side chains into poly(fluorene-based aryl alkyl) polymers with quaternary ammonium groups (PFAA-QA). By systematically tuning the alkyl chain length, we established a clear relationship between polymer structure and electrochemical performance. Thermal analysis revealed that increasing alkyl chain length reduced the glass transition temperature (Tg), indicating enhanced chain mobility, which in turn facilitated more efficient ion transport pathways within the membrane.
The electrochemical performance was evaluated in an AEMWE single-cell under non-PGM catalyst conditions and benchmarked against the commercial PiperION membrane. The optimized PFAA-QA membrane outperformed the commercial membrane under identical operating conditions, achieving a current density of 5.64 A cm⁻² at 2.0 V.
These results demonstrate that interstitial alkyl side chain engineering is an effective strategy for enhancing polymer chain dynamics and electrochemical performance in hydrocarbon-based anion exchange membranes. Furthermore, we will systematically investigate how alkyl side chain incorporation and chain length modulation influence both the performance and durability of AEMs in AEMWE systems.
