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In order to improve the mechanical and water electrolysis performance of anion exchange membranes (AEMs), we adjusted the ratio between p -terphenyl and m -terphenyl to balance the backbone conformation, which gives it a better suitability for a better combination with cations. The results showed that poly( m -terphenyl- co - p -terphenyl)-based AEMs have excellent mechanical properties. Among them, the m - p -TP-40-BOP-ASU membrane has the highest tensile strength and elongation at break (75.72 MPa and 16.07%). The ionic conductivity reaches 137.14 mS cm –1 at 80 °C owing to the fact that efficient ion-conducting channels are formed by well-balanced molecular structures. The current density of the m - p -TP-40-BOP-ASU membrane reached 1.96 A cm –2 (1 M KOH aq, 2.0 V and 60 °C). After testing for 112 h under a current density of 500 mA cm –2, the voltage increased by 102 mV compared to the initial electrolysis voltage. All results have shown that m - p -TP- x -BOP-ASU has excellent electrolysis performance and electrochemical durability and has a promising application prospect in AEM water electrolyzers.
Zhang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.