Synthesis and Characterization of Sulfonated Co‐Polyimides With Enhanced Flexibility, Thermal and Methanol Stability for Potential Fuel Cell Applications
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT Fabrication of proton exchange membranes with high conductivity, flexibility, and lower swelling ratio has been a lasting challenge. Here, we proposed a synthesis of highly flexible new sulfonated co‐polyimides (co‐SPIs) through one‐step thermal imidization by polymerizing 4,4′‐diaminostilbene‐2,2′‐disulfonic acid (SDA) with pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and poly (ether amine) (PEA). Co‐SPIs with a high degree of sulfonation (DS) (50%–70%) were successfully synthesized. These synthesized co‐SPIs displayed good flexibility and thermal stability in comparison to literature‐reported polymers. Furthermore, the methanol uptake for co‐SPIs with 70% DS was 12.5%, which is less than standard Nafion (22% methanol uptake). Hence, these co‐SPIs with enhanced flexibility, thermal stability, and lower swelling ratio in methanol make them a good candidate for fuel cell applications.
DOI: 10.1002/app.56950
Institutions: Quaid-i-Azam University, Rawalpindi Women University
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4408318388