Macromolecular cross-linked polybenzimidazole based on bromomethylated poly (aryl ether ketone) with enhanced stability for high temperature fuel cell applications

A series of macromolecular cross-linked polybenzimidazole (PBI) membranes have been successfully prepared for the high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) applications. Bromomethylated poly (aryl ether ketone) (BrPAEK) is synthesized and used as a macromolecular cross-linker, the cross-linking reaction can be accomplished at 160 C using an easy facial heating treatment. The resulting cross-linked membranes CBrPBI-X (X is the weight fraction of the cross-linker) display excellent mechanical strength. After phosphoric acid (PA) doping, the mechanical strength and proton conductivity of the PA/CBrPBI-X membranes are both enhanced comparing with the pristine PA/PBI. Considering the tradeoff of the mechanical strength and proton conductivity, 10 wt% BrPAEK is demonstrated to be an optimum content in the matrix. For instance, the proton conductivity of PA/CBrPBI-10 is 0.038 S cm^-1 at 200 C, which is higher than that of pristine PA/PBI with the proton conductivity of 0.029 S cm^-1 at the same temperature. Other properties of the cross-linked membranes are also investigated in detail, including the oxidative stability, solubility and thermal stability. All the results indicate that the PA/CBrPBI-10 membrane has the potential application in HT-PEMFCs.