Effect of addition of organic microspheres on proton conductivity property of sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) membrane

Sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES)/polystyrene(PS) and SPAES/polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSSA) composite membranes were studied for a proton-exchange membrane used in a fuel cell. PS microspheres were synthesized by emulsion polymerization. PSSA microspheres with 5.3 mmol/g ion-exchange capacity (IEC) were prepared by sulfonation of PS microspheres. The composite membranes were prepared by solution casting. SPAES/PSSA composite membranes showed higher proton conductivity than a SPAES membrane because of the IEC improved by adding PSSA. Although the addition of PSSA also brought about the increase of a methanol permeability, the proton/methanol selectivity defined as the ratio of the proton conductivity to the methanol permeability was improved at low humidity by adding 5 wt % of PSSA microspheres. Differential scanning calorimetry results indicated that the amount of free water varied in the cases of the addition of the two kinds of organic microspheres.