Preparation of radiation-grafted polymer electrolyte membranes; Effect of chemical crosslinker

Chen, J.; Asano, Masaharu; Maekawa, Yasunari; Yoshida, Masaru

The object of this study is to improve the durability of radiation-grafted polymer electrolyte membranes (PEM), which were prepared by post-grafting p-methyl styrene with chemical crosslinkers such as divinylbenzene (DVB), 1,2-bis(p,p-vinylphenyl)ethane (BVPE), and triallyl cyanurate (TAC) into ETFE films after -preirradiation and subsequent sulfonation. Among the three different chemical crosslinkers, DVB showed the most pronounced efficiency for durability of the PEM obtained, in close relation to introduction of tightly crosslinked network structures based on DVB.