Synthesis and properties of novel sulfonated polyimides bearing sulfophenyl pendant groups for fuel cell application

A novel sulfonated diamine bearing sulfophenyl pendant groups, namely, 4,4′-bis (4-aminophenoxy)-3,3′-bis(4-sulfophenyl) biphenyl and a series of sulfonated polyimides (SPIs) based on it were successfully synthesized. The SPIs had high viscosity and gave tough, flexible and transparent membranes. The SPI membranes showed anisotropic membrane swelling in water with 2.5–4 times larger swelling in thickness direction than in plane one. They displayed reasonably high proton conductivity. For example, the conductivities for the SPI with an ion exchange capacity of 1.80 mequiv/g were 104 and 7.3 mS/cm in water and 50% RH, respectively, at 60 °C. They maintained high mechanical strength and proton conductivity even after aging in water at 130 °C for 500 h, showing the high water stability comparable to the best SPI reported so far. In polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) operated at 90 °C and 50% RH, they showed fairly high cell performances and have high potential for PEFC applications.