Click Chemistry-Induced Terminally Crosslinked Poly(ether sulfone) as a Highly Conductive Anion Exchange Membrane Under Humidity Condition

New terminally crosslinked anion exchange membranes (AEMs) were developed by both thermal and click reaction of piperidinium-functionalized poly(ether sulfone) (PES) multiblock copolymer with both bis(aryl azide) and PEG-functionalized-azide (PEG-azide) as crosslinkers. The structure as well as physicochemical and electrical properties of the corresponding terminally-crosslinked membranes were analyzed and compared with their non-crosslinked counterparts. The hydroxide conductivity of our terminally-crosslinked membranes (especially the PEG-PI-xPES membrane) under room humidity and high-temperature conditions was found to be high because of their unique structures generated by terminal-crosslinking, and hence high water-holding capacity of these crosslinked systems. The amount of bound water was analyzed using both TGA and DSC technqiues to support the enhanced water-holding capacity for our terminally-crosslinked membranes.