Polyvinyl Alcohol-Sulfonated Polyethersulfone Blend for Application in Proton-Exchange Membranes

In recent years, proton-exchange membranes as the main components of composite actuators have been paid special attention because of their important role in membrane technology. Polyvinyl alcohol was blended with sulfonated polyethersulfone in the presence of glutaraldehyde as crosslinking agent. The effect of the blend ratio and glutaraldehyde content on the ionic and mechanical properties of the blend was studied. For this purpose, polyethersulfone was sulfonated by chlorosulfonic acid. The sulfonated sample was blended with polyvinyl alcohol in different ratios, and in order to control the water uptake of polyvinyl alcohol, glutaraldehyde was added into the blend mixture. Degree of sulfonation of polyethersulfone measured by titration method was found to be 26%. By increasing the sulfonated polyethersulfone and glutaraldehyde contents, the water uptake of membranes indicated a decreasing trend with a minimum of 18%. The higher glutaraldehyde/polyvinyl alcohol (GA/PVA) ratio from 0.03 to 0.06 had not much effect on the ion exchange capacity but reduced its proton conductivity. With increasing the sulfonated polyethersulfone/polyvinyl alcohol (SPES/PVA) ratio, the sulfonic acid groups were increased, and therefore, the ion exchange capacity and proton conductivity were both increased to their maximum values of 0.62 meq/g and 2.63 mS/cm. Tensile test results showed that the blend containing 70% sulfonated polyethersulfone with the GA/PVA ratio of 0.06, had the maximum mechanical strength and young modulus of 30.86 and 104.18 MPa, respectively. Besides, each membrane showed a tougher behavior when the sulfonated polyethersulfone content was increased.