Kwon, Yeonhye Lee, So Young Hong, Sukjae Jang, Jong Hyun Henkensmeier, Dirk Yoo, Sung Jong Kim, Hyoung-Juhn Kim, Sung-Hyun 2024-01-20T08:03:04Z 2024-01-20T08:03:04Z 2021-09-04 2015-01 1759-9954 https://pubs.kist.re.kr/handle/201004/125953 We here report a new sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) modified with hydroxyl side groups for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The polymer was synthesized via 4-step reaction including direct copolymerization, sulfochlorination, demethylation, and hydrolysis. By adding the hydroxyl group into the polymer backbone, strong intermolecular hydrogen bonds could be generated between polymer chains. The hydroxyl sulfonated polymer demonstrated high proton conductivities at a variety of temperatures and relative humidities due to its enhanced phase-separated morphology. Moreover, it showed an improved fuel cell performance compared to the non-hydroxylated analog with the same sulfonation degree. The introduction of hydroxyl groups to the sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) provides a potential candidate for an improved PEMFC membrane. English Royal Society of Chemistry Novel sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) containing hydroxyl groups for enhanced proton exchange membrane properties Article 10.1039/c4py01218f 1 Polymer Chemistry, v.6, no.2, pp.233 - 239 Polymer Chemistry 6 2 233 239 N scie scopus 000346049200007 2-s2.0-84916623020 Polymer Science Polymer Science Article POLYMER ELECTROLYTE MEMBRANES RANDOM STATISTICAL COPOLYMERS FUEL-CELL APPLICATIONS MEDIUM-TEMPERATURE ACID PERFORMANCE TRANSPORT SYSTEMS proton exchange membrane fuel cell ulfonated poly (arylene ether sulfone) proton exchange membrane