Study of Azoles As Bifunctional Additives for Proton Exchange Membranes Melt-Processing from LSC and SSC Perfluorosulfonic Acid Ionomers

摘要

Azoles are investigated as potential bifunctional additives for proton exchange membranes (PEM) manufacturing through direct melt-processing of acidic ionomers. The additives selected are highly polar additives with relatively high boiling points that are expected to interact with the ion-rich aggregates that compose the nanophase separation in ionomers and act as plasticizers improving the viscoelastic behavior during melt processing. Long Side Chain (LSC) and Short Side Chain (SSC) Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) based ionomers membranes have been prepared using a series of heterocyclic azoles, the study describes the properties of the obtained materials.