Achieving High Conductivity at Low Ion Exchange Capacity for Anion Exchange Membranes with Electrospun Polyelectrolyte Nanofibers

There has been a "trade-off" between ion exchange capacity (IEC) and mechanical properties in anion exchange membranes. Thinking out of the box, high ion conductivity was realized with only a small amount of ion exchange groups (means low IEC) in this work, by way of constructing highly effective ion channels with electrospun polyelectrolyte nanofibers. At a low IEC of 1.02 mmol g(-1), the conductivity of quaternized poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) nanofiber (QPPONF)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (QPPONF/PVA) composite membranes achieved was 51.5 mS cm(-1) at 60 degrees C, which was much higher than that of the homogenous QPPO casting membrane (20.3 mS cm(-1) at 60 degrees C, IEC = 1.04 mmol g(-1)). Moreover, 70 wt % QPPONF/PVA composite membrane exhibits an excellent peak power density of 791 mW cm(-2) in the H-2/O-2 fuel cell test.