Abstract Development of novel proton exchange membrane (PEM) with the aim toward neat methanol operation of direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) has attracted increasing attention. Proton exchange membrane technology with remarkably low methanol permeability has been considered as one of the most facile ways to approach this target. Here, sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) membrane was modified by blending with superhydrophobic bromomethylated poly(phenylene oxide) (BPPO). The fabricated SPEEK/BPPO membranes possess obviously low methanol permeability, which is attributed to the formed interrupted methanol transport channels arising from the combined properties of the hydrophobic BPPO polymeric backbone, the formed spherical BPPO obstacles and the cross-linking networks derived from the Friedel-Craft reaction between bromobenzyl groups and nucleophilic phenyl rings. Therefore, the SPEEK/BPPO membrane DMFC demonstrates a much higher cell performance both at low methanol concentration and high methanol concentration than the Nafion 117 DMFC. In particular, the actual value of the maximum power density at high methanol concentration of 20 M suggests that the SPEEK/BPPO membranes can be considered as a desirable candidate for potential application in high methanol concentration DMFCs.

中文翻译：

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超疏水溴甲基化聚苯醚作为 SPEEK 膜中的多功能聚合物填料，用于直接甲醇燃料电池的纯甲醇操作

摘要 以直接甲醇燃料电池 (DMFC) 的纯甲醇操作为目标的新型质子交换膜 (PEM) 的开发引起了越来越多的关注。具有极低甲醇渗透率的质子交换膜技术被认为是实现这一目标的最简便方法之一。在这里，磺化聚（醚醚酮）（SPEEK）膜通过与超疏水溴甲基化聚（苯醚）（BPPO）混合进行改性。制造的 SPEEK/BPPO 膜具有明显的低甲醇渗透率，这是由于疏水性 BPPO 聚合物骨架的综合特性导致形成的甲醇传输通道中断，形成的球形 BPPO 障碍物和源自溴苄基和亲核苯环之间的 Friedel-Craft 反应的交联网络。因此，SPEEK/BPPO 膜 DMFC 在低甲醇浓度和高甲醇浓度下均表现出比 Nafion 117 DMFC 高得多的电池性能。特别是，在 20 M 的高甲醇浓度下最大功率密度的实际值表明 SPEEK/BPPO 膜可以被认为是高甲醇浓度 DMFC 潜在应用的理想选择。