The present invention relates to a sulfonated polyetheretherketone (sPEEK) nanocomposite film containing silsesquioxane and exhibiting excellent proton conductivity and mechanical strength, and a method for manufacturing the same. The nanocomposite film of the present invention has excellent conductivity since multiple sulfonic acid groups as a proton source exist in POSS used as a filler. In addition, the POSS used in the present invention is very small, having a size of 1-2 nm, and thus hardly obstructs the migration of protons in the ion channel in the polymer membrane, thereby realizing excellent proton conductivity. In addition, the proton conductive nanocomposite film by the present invention shows excellent mechanical strength even though the degree of sulfonation of sulfonated polyetheretherketone is increased.

An ion exchange membrane and a method of making it. The membrane may be used, for example, in an electrodialysis module or electrochemical cell. The membrane comprises an ion exchange polymer and inorganic particles preferably linked to the ion exchange polymer. To make a membrane, inorganic particles are mixed into an ion exchange membrane pre-cursor. A polymerization initiator or catalyst is then added and the resulting mixture is placed in a form and cured. The inorganic particles may comprise, for example, an oxidized form of graphite such as graphite oxide. The ion exchange polymer may comprise an ionic monomer, containing a quaternary ammonium group for anion exchange or a sulfonate group for cation exchange, along with a crosslinking co-monomer containing polymerizable diacrylic functionalities. The membrane is self-supporting and can be made without a supporting fabric.

The invention relates to a composite or a composite membrane consisting of an ionomer and of an inorganic optionally functionalized phyllosilicate. The isomer can be: (a) a cation exchange polymer; (b) an anion exchange polymer; (c) a polymer containing both anion exchanger groupings as well as cation exchanger groupings on the polymer chain; or (d) a blend consisting of (a) and (b), whereby the mixture ratio can range from 100% (a) to 100% (b). The blend can be ionically and even covalently cross-linked. The inorganic constituents can be selected from the group consisting of phyllosilicates or tectosilicates.

Provided are a functional polymer membrane including: a surface layer; and an anion exchange membrane or a cation exchange membrane, in which the surface layer contains a polymer which includes a cross-linked structure having, in a cross-linking unit, an ionic group with a charge opposite to a charge of an ionic group included in at least one of the anion exchange membrane or the cation exchange membrane; a production method thereof, and a stack or a device provided with a polymer functional membrane.

Provided is a functional polymer membrane including a porous support; and a resin layer and an auxiliary layer which are supported by the porous support, in which both of the resin layer and the auxiliary layer contain an ion exchange polymer having one of an anion exchange group and a cation exchange group, a charge of the ion exchange group of the ion exchange polymer included in the resin layer is opposite to a charge of the ion exchange group of the ion exchange polymer included in the auxiliary layer, and both of the ion exchange polymers respectively included in the resin layer and the auxiliary layer are polymers having a unit obtained from an acryloyl group which may have an alkyl group at the -position; a stack or a device provided with a functional polymer membrane; and a method of producing, a functional polymer membrane.

The present application relates to a composite electrolyte membrane and a method for manufacturing the same. The composite electrolyte membrane according to the present application includes: a poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymer including the repeating unit represented by Chemical Formula 1 and the repeating unit represented by Chemical Formula 2; and a core-shell particle including an inorganic particle core and a basic organic polymer shell.

A non crosslinked, covalently crosslinked and/or ionically crosslinked polymer, having repeating units of the general formula (1)

KR(1)

In which K is a bond, oxygen, sulfur,

##STR00001##

the radical R is a divalent radical of an aromatic or heteroaromatic compound.

A method of making a monomer solution of styrene sulfonic acid or the pyridine salt of styrene sulfonic acid or mixtures of both in an organic solvent, said solution being suitable for producing cation exchange membranes. The method comprises the steps of dissolving a metal salt of styrene sulfonate in said organic solvent and pyridinium styrene sulfonate. The mixture solution is reacted under conditions that generate a salt byproduct precipitate and the reactant product solution is collected. Embodiments of the present invention provide for cation exchange membranes and processes for their manufacture. Membranes made by the processes described herein combine low resistance and high permselectivity which make them highly effective for membrane components in desalination of water by electrodialysis (ED), as a power generating sources in reverse electrodialysis and as separators in fuels cells.

The invention relates to a method for assembling a bipolar membrane, and bipolar membrane thereof. The method comprises the steps of electrospinning and centrifugal spinning and electrocentrifugal spinning a first cation exchange layer comprising a first water splitting catalyst and a first cation exchange polymer, electrospinning and centrifugal spinning and electrocentrifugal spinning a junction layer. Further, the method comprises electrospinning and centrifugal spinning and electrocentrifugal spinning a first anion exchange layer comprising a second water splitting catalyst and a first anion exchange polymer. A system comprising a bipolar membrane according to the invention is also disclosed.

Embodiments in accordance with the present invention encompass a composition comprising one or more of polycyclic olefinic monomers of formula (I) and one or more monomers of formula (III) for forming anion exchange membrane optionally in combination with one or more monomers of formula (II). The composition undergoes mass vinyl addition polymerization either under thermal or photolytic conditions and can be formed into ionomers on a suitable membrane support. The membrane supports thus formed are suitable as anion exchange membranes for fabricating a variety of electrochemical devices, among others. More specifically, the ionomeric membranes are formed on a variety of supports which contains a variety of quaternized amino functionalized norbornene monomeric units which are lightly crosslinked (less than five mol %). The membranes so formed exhibit very high ionic conductivity of up to 280 mS/cm at 80 C. The electrochemical devices made in accordance of this invention are useful as fuel cells, gas separators, and the like.