Novel Sulfonated Poly(arylene ether phosphine oxide)s Containing Bisphenol moieties as Proton Exchange Membrane

Two series of novel sulfonated poly(arylene ether phosphine oxide)s were synthesized by incorporating cheap bisphenol A or bisphenol AP into the backbone via direct polycondensation. Both sulfonated poly(arylene ether phosphine oxide)s could be cast into uniform and ductile membranes. Their properties as proton exchange membranes were investigated and compared in detail. As a result, the sulfonated poly(arylene ether phosphine oxide)s containing bisphenol AP units show better properties than polymer containing bisphenol A units with similar ion exchange capacity (IEC). For example, the former membrane shows a XY swelling ratio of 9.8%, a Z swelling ratio of 9.5%, a proton conductivity of 0.084 S/cm and 100% residual weight after immersing in Fentons’ reagent for 1 h at 80°C. Therefore, it is a promising proton exchange membrane for fuel cell due to cheap and high performance.