Preparation and characterization of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/sulfonated poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) blends for proton exchange membrane

Poly(vinylidene fluoride)/sulfonated poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (PVdF/SPPESK) blend membranes are successfully prepared by solution blending method for novel proton exchange membrane (PEM). PVdF crystallinity, FTIR‐ATR spectroscopy, thermal stability, morphology, water uptake, dimension stability, and proton conductivity are investigated on PVdF/SPPESK blends with different PVdF contents. XRD and DSC analysis reveal that the PVdF crystallinity in the blends depends on PVdF content. The FTIR‐ATR spectra indicate that SPPESK remains proton‐conducting function in the blends due to the intactness of ? SO₃H group. Thermal analysis results show a very high thermal stability (T_d1 = 246–261°C) of the blends. PVdF crystallinity and morphology study demonstrate that with lower PVdF content, PVdF are very compatible with SPPESK. Also, with lower PVdF content, PVdF/SPPESK blends possess high water uptake, e.g., P/S 10/90 and P/S 15/85 have water uptake of 135 and 99% at 95°C, respectively. The blend membranes also have good dimension stability because the swelling ratios are at a fairly low level (e.g., 8–22%, 80°C). PVdF/SPPESK blends with low PVdF content exhibit very high proton conductivity, e.g., at 80°C, P/S 15/85 and P/S 10/90 reach 2.6 × 10^?2 and 3.6 × 10^?2 S cm^?1, respectively, which are close to or even higher than that (3.4 × 10^?2 S cm^?1) of Nafion115 under the same test condition. All above properties indicate that the PVdF/SPPESK blend membranes (particularly, with 10–20% of PVdF content) are very promising for use in PEM field. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010