Copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and vinylbenzyl chloride towards alkaline anion exchange membrane for fuel cell applications

Our previous studies demonstrated great potential of methyl methacrylate and vinylbenzyl chloride based copolymer electrolytes for alkaline fuel cell applications. In this study, a number of factors including polymer composition drift, molecular weight, and polymer crosslinking is investigated to understand their effects and to precisely control the electrolyte properties including conductivity, mechanical strength, and water mass-uptake. This investigation demonstrated a controllable polymerization procedure of poly (methyl methacrylate-co-vinylbenzyl chloride) membrane with tunable and balanced properties, which is promising for the alkaline fuel cell technology.