Partially sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)-b-polybutadiene for proton exchange membrane

A novel block copolymer based on poly(arylene ether sulfone)-b-polybutadiene (SPAES-b-PB) was synthesized and its flexible segment was sulfonated by electrophilic addition reaction with acetyl sulfate. This could be a new approach to prepare suitable alternative proton exchange membranes to Nafion®. Only a single glass transition temperature (Tg) of copolymer measured by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) indicated good compatibility between PAES block and PB block. A tough and transparent membrane based on SPAES-b-PB exhibited higher proton conductivity (0.0302 S/cm at 25 °C and 100% relative humidity) even with relatively low ion exchange capacity (IEC) of 0.624 mmol/g compared to other sulfonated block copolymer membranes such as sulfonated polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-b-polystyrene (SSEBS), sulfonated poly(styrene-isobutylene-styrene) (S-SIBS), sulfonated hydrogenated poly-butadiene-styrene copolymer (HPBS-SH) as a result of selected sulfonation of the flexible segments facilitating sulfonated groups to aggregate to form ion-rich channels.