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Poly(fluorene alkylene) Anion Exchange Membranes with Pendant Spirocyclic and Bis-Spirocyclic Quaternary Ammonium Cations

Pan, Dong LU ; Olsson, Joel S. LU and Jannasch, Patric LU orcid (2022) In ACS Applied Energy Materials 5(1). p.981-991
Abstract
Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) functionalized with certain alicyclic quaternary ammonium cations show high alkaline stability, which is necessary for use in fuel cells and water electrolyzers. Here, we have prepared and studied a series of poly(fluorene alkylene)s incorporating N,N-dimethylpiperidinium (DMP) and 6-azoniaspiro[5.5]undecane (ASU) cations in spirocyclic and bis-spirocyclic arrangements, respectively. First, a new fluorene monomer carrying a piperidine... (More)
Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) functionalized with certain alicyclic quaternary ammonium cations show high alkaline stability, which is necessary for use in fuel cells and water electrolyzers. Here, we have prepared and studied a series of poly(fluorene alkylene)s incorporating N,N-dimethylpiperidinium (DMP) and 6-azoniaspiro[5.5]undecane (ASU) cations in spirocyclic and bis-spirocyclic arrangements, respectively. First, a new fluorene monomer carrying a piperidine ring attached in the C9 position was prepared in a cycloalkylation reaction with N-Boc-N,N-bis(2-chloroethyl)amine. After deprotection, this monomer was employed in superacid-mediated polyhydroxyalkylations with 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone (Ap) and 1,1,1-trifluoroacetone (Ac), respectively, to prepare piperidine-functional precursor polymers. Finally, the DMP and ASU cations were formed in quaternizations and cycloquaternizations of the piperidine groups in the polymers by using methyl iodide and 1,5-dibromopentane, respectively. Solvent-cast AEMs showed high thermal stability in combination with good mechanical properties and restricted water uptake as a result of the stiff polymer backbone and bulky cations. Still, the AEM prepared with Ac and carrying DMP cations reached high OH conductivity, exceeding 80 mS cm–1 at 80 °C. At the same temperature, this AEM showed a high alkaline stability and retained more than 96% of the DMP cations after storage during 30 days in 1 M NaOH. Detailed NMR analysis revealed that ionic loss via Hofmann elimination dominated, but evidence of ring-opening and methyl substitution reactions was also found. Degradation of the ASU cation in the bis-spirocyclic arrangement occurred mainly through ring-opening reactions in the ring directly attached to the fluorene unit in the polymer backbone. These results provide valuable insights when it comes to molecular design of piperidinium-based cations in polycyclic arrangements toward alkali-stable and highly conductive AEMs. (Less)
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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
ACS Applied Energy Materials
volume
5
issue
1
pages
11 pages
publisher
The American Chemical Society (ACS)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85121987619
ISSN
2574-0962
DOI
10.1021/acsaem.1c03359
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Published online: December 17, 2021
id
05f7e095-b3a2-49e2-8549-3126e531fe9e
date added to LUP
2021-12-03 23:51:10
date last changed
2023-03-25 00:28:30
@article{05f7e095-b3a2-49e2-8549-3126e531fe9e,
  abstract     = {{Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) functionalized with certain alicyclic quaternary ammonium cations show high alkaline stability, which is necessary for use in fuel cells and water electrolyzers. Here, we have prepared and studied a series of poly(fluorene alkylene)s incorporating <i style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgb(244, 244, 244);">N</i>,<i style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgb(244, 244, 244);">N</i>-dimethylpiperidinium (DMP) and 6-azoniaspiro[5.5]undecane (ASU) cations in spirocyclic and bis-spirocyclic arrangements, respectively. First, a new fluorene monomer carrying a piperidine ring attached in the C9 position was prepared in a cycloalkylation reaction with <i style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgb(244, 244, 244);">N</i>-Boc-<i style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgb(244, 244, 244);">N</i>,<i style="box-sizing: border-box; outline: none; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 17px; background-color: rgb(244, 244, 244);">N</i>-bis(2-chloroethyl)amine. After deprotection, this monomer was employed in superacid-mediated polyhydroxyalkylations with 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone (Ap) and 1,1,1-trifluoroacetone (Ac), respectively, to prepare piperidine-functional precursor polymers. Finally, the DMP and ASU cations were formed in quaternizations and cycloquaternizations of the piperidine groups in the polymers by using methyl iodide and 1,5-dibromopentane, respectively. Solvent-cast AEMs showed high thermal stability in combination with good mechanical properties and restricted water uptake as a result of the stiff polymer backbone and bulky cations. Still, the AEM prepared with Ac and carrying DMP cations reached high OH<sup>–</sup> conductivity, exceeding 80 mS cm<sup>–1</sup> at 80 °C. At the same temperature, this AEM showed a high alkaline stability and retained more than 96% of the DMP cations after storage during 30 days in 1 M NaOH. Detailed NMR analysis revealed that ionic loss via Hofmann elimination dominated, but evidence of ring-opening and methyl substitution reactions was also found. Degradation of the ASU cation in the bis-spirocyclic arrangement occurred mainly through ring-opening reactions in the ring directly attached to the fluorene unit in the polymer backbone. These results provide valuable insights when it comes to molecular design of piperidinium-based cations in polycyclic arrangements toward alkali-stable and highly conductive AEMs.}},
  author       = {{Pan, Dong and Olsson, Joel S. and Jannasch, Patric}},
  issn         = {{2574-0962}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{981--991}},
  publisher    = {{The American Chemical Society (ACS)}},
  series       = {{ACS Applied Energy Materials}},
  title        = {{Poly(fluorene alkylene) Anion Exchange Membranes with Pendant Spirocyclic and Bis-Spirocyclic Quaternary Ammonium Cations}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.1c03359}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/acsaem.1c03359}},
  volume       = {{5}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}