Preparation and characterization of proton conducting polysulfone grafted poly(styrene sulfonic acid) polyelectrolyte membranes

The syntheses of series of proton conducting comb copolymer membrane involving polysulfone back bone as main chain and poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PSSA) being side chain, i.e. polysulfone grafted poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PSU-g-PSSA) are presented. Chloromethylation of the polysulfone backbone was done by Fridel Craft alkylation reaction. Atom transfer radical polymerization was used for control grafting from the chloromethylated positions. The successful substitution of the chloromethyl group and its grafting with PSSA was characterized by elemental analysis and proton nuclear magnetic resonance. Water uptake, electrochemical properties like ion exchange capacity (IEC) and proton conductivities increase with increase in PSSA contents. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) showed the thermal stability of membranes up to 250 °C. Proton conductivity for maximum amount of grafting is 0.02 S/cm.