Proton conducting properties of ionically cross-linked poly(1-vinyl-1,2,4 triazole) and poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) electrolytes

The synthesis and thermal as well as proton conducting properties of complex polymer electrolytes based on poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) PAMPS and poly(1-vinyl-1,2,4-triazole) PVTri were investigated. The materials were produced by complexation of PAMPS with PVTri at various compositions to get PVTriP(AMPS) _x where x is the molar ratio of the polymer repeating units and varied from 0.25 to 4. The structure of the materials was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. The TGA results verified that the polymer electrolytes are thermally stable up to approximately 200 °C. The DSC and SEM results demonstrated the homogeneity of the materials. The electrochemical stability of the materials was studied by cyclic voltammeter (CV). Proton conductivity, activation energy, and water/methanol uptake of these membranes were also measured. After humidification (RH = 50%), PVTriP(AMPS)₂ and PVTriP(AMPS)₄ showed proton conductivities of 0.30 and 0.06 S/cm at 100 °C, respectively.