Proton conductive membranes of sulfonated poly(ether ketone ketone)

Poly(ether ketone ketone) was sulfonated using fumic sulfuric acid and used for preparation of proton conductive membranes. The sulfonation degree was evaluated by elemental and thermal analysis and the IEC values were determined by titration. The proton conductivity of membranes with sulfonation degrees up to 70% was determined as a function of temperature by impedance spectroscopy. Membranes with sulfonation degree 38–70% were tested in DMFC experiments. Their performance was comparable to Nafion® with the same pretreatment and clearly better than sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) membranes with similar functionalization. The methanol crossover was lower than that of Nafion® in the same conditions.