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Simultaneous quaternization and crosslinking of polystyrene-based anion exchange membranes using bis-imidazole crosslinkers for fuel cell applications

Polymer Journal (2026) Cite this article

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Abstract

Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) generally suffer from a trade-off between ionic conductivity and dimensional stability. Conventional crosslinking modification improves dimensional stability at the expense of ionic conductivity. To address this problem, a simultaneous quaternization and crosslinking strategy using tertiary diamine-based bis-imidazole crosslinkers was employed to form crosslinked networks in which imidazolium groups function as both crosslinking nodes and anion-conducting sites. In this study, six bis-imidazole-crosslinked polystyrene-based AEMs were synthesized by systematically varying the tether length, tether hydrophilicity, and C2 substitution on the imidazolium ring. All the crosslinked AEMs showed limited water uptake, good dimensional stability, and adequate mechanical strength. Additionally, they exhibited appreciable hydroxide ion conductivities, indicating that both imidazolium- and methylimidazolium-linked crosslinked networks can effectively facilitate ion transport. Among them, the unsubstituted imidazolium-linked membrane with a longer ether-containing tether showed the highest hydration number and achieved the highest hydroxide ion conductivity of 0.0839 S cm−1 at 80 °C. However, the unsubstituted imidazolium linkage was unstable under alkaline conditions. Notably, the C2-methyl-substituted imidazolium-linked membrane with a longer ether-containing tether maintained high conductivity after prolonged alkaline treatment and delivered a fuel cell performance comparable to that of the commercial polystyrene-based AEM Sustainion X37-RT, demonstrating its potential for AEMFC applications.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the National Science and Technology Council (Taiwan, R.O.C.) for funding under project numbers MOST 110-2221-E-006-007 and MOST 111-2221-E-992-006-MY3. Additionally, the authors acknowledge the use of the Bruker Avance 600 NMR spectrometer and the Bruker NANOSTAR U system, which belong to the Instrument Center of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), along with the operational assistance provided by Mrs. Bi-Yun Lin and Mr. Kun-Hsu Lee.

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  1. Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC

    Li-Cheng Jheng & Hong-Yi Yeh

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, ROC

    Tzu-En Liu & Steve Lien-Chung Hsu

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  1. Li-Cheng Jheng
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Jheng, LC., Liu, TE., Yeh, HY. et al. Simultaneous quaternization and crosslinking of polystyrene-based anion exchange membranes using bis-imidazole crosslinkers for fuel cell applications. Polym J (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-026-01191-4

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