Block poly(arylene ether sulfone) with built-in alkyl chain for comb-shaped anion exchange membranes

To develop anion exchange membranes (AEMs) with high conductivity and mechanical properties, a synergistic design strategy integrating comb-shaped architectures and block copolymer backbones is implemented. In this study, a novel series of block poly(arylene ether sulfone) with built-in alkyl chains is synthesized and piperidinyl modified for comb-shaped block AEMs (QBPSA-m/n). The influence of comb-shaped structure content on the membrane's properties is investigated by varying the ratio of alkyl chain-contained and alkyl chain-free segments. Along these processes, the membranes display obvious phase separation morphologies, as characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM). QBPSA-m/n with moderate ion-exchange capacity (IEC) of 1.58–1.46 meq g −1 shows low swelling ratio (7.61 %–8.47 % at 80 °C), high conductivity (116.28–135.14 mS cm −1 at 80 °C) and robust mechanical properties (tensile strength of 30.45–44.49 MPa). Furthermore, QBPSA-m/n also exhibits good thermal stability and optimizable alkaline stability.