Porous Polyethylene Supports in Reinforcement of Multiblock Hydrocarbon Ionomers for Proton Exchange Membranes

Hydrocarbon (HC)-based block copolymers have been recognized as promising candidates for proton exchange membranes (PEMs) due to their distinct hydrophilic–hydrophobic separation, which results in improved proton transport compared to that of random copolymers. However, most PEMs derived from HC-based ionomers, including block copolymers, encounter challenges related to durability in electrochemical cells due to their low mechanical and chemical properties. One method for reinforcing HC-based ionomers involves incorporating the ionomers into commercially available low surface tension PTFE porous substrates. Nevertheless, the high interfacial energy between the hydrocarbon-based ionomer solution and PTFE remains a challenge in this reinforcement process, which necessitates the application of surface energy treatment to PTFE. Here, multiblock sulfonated poly­(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES) ionomers are being reinforced using untreated PE on the surface, and this is compared to reinforcement using surface-treated porous PTFE. The PE support layer exhibits a lower surface energy barrier compared to the surface-treated PTFE layer for the infiltration of the multiblock SPAES solution. This is characterized by the absence of noticeable voids, high translucency, gas impermeability, and a physical and chemical stability. By utilizing a high surface tension PE support with a comparable value to the multiblock SPAES, effective reinforcement of the multiblock SPAES ionomers is achieved for a PEM, which is potentially applicable to various hydrogen energy-based electrochemical cells.