Fabrication of N1-butyl substituted 4,5-dimethyl-imidazole based crosslinked anion exchange membranes for fuel cells

Novel N1, C4, C5-substituted imidazolium-based crosslinked anion exchange membranes (AEMs) are prepared by the incorporation of polybenzimidazole (PBI) into the poly(vinylbenzyl chloride) (PVBC) matrix. 1-Butyl-4,5-dimethyl-imidazole (BDIm) with methyl substituents at C4, C5 and long side alkyl substituents at N1 is firstly synthesized to enhance the stability of AEMs by steric hindrance and hyperconjugative effects and characterized by 1H NMR. The effects of crosslinking density of AEMs on the hydroxide conductivity, swelling ratio, thermal stability, oxidative and alkaline stability are evaluated in detail for fuel cell applications. The results reveal that the crosslinking structure between PVBC and PBI plays a vital role in achieving both good mechanical properties and low swelling ratio. Notably, the AEM containing 66.7% PVBC has the highest ionic conductivity of 16.1 mS cm−1 at 20 °C with an IEC of 2.1 mmol g−1. Meanwhile, the AEMs also exhibit excellent oxidative stability in Fenton's reagent for 200 h and alkaline stability in 1 mol L−1 KOH at 60 °C for 480 h. Furthermore, the peak power density of an H2/O2 single fuel cell is up to 54 mW cm−2.