Bioinspired supramolecular macrocycle hybrid membranes with enhanced proton conductivity  

作　　者：Pengfei Yang Linlin Xu Panagiotis Trogadas Marc-Olivier Coppens Yang Lan 

机构地区：[1]Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering,Department of Chemical Engineering,University College London,London WC1E 7JE,UK

出　　处：《Nano Research》2024年第2期797-805,共9页纳米研究（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the Royal Society(No.RGS\R2\202203Lan_4824933);the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council(Nos.EP/N509577/1,EP/T517793/1,and EP/S03305X/1).

摘　　要：Enhancing the proton conductivity of proton exchange membranes(PEMs)is essential to expand the applications of proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs).Inspired by the proton conduction mechanism of bacteriorhodopsin,cucurbit[n]urils(CB[n],where n is the number of glycoluril units,n=6,7,or 8)are introduced into sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)(SPEEK)matrix to fabricate hybrid PEMs,employing a nature-inspired chemical engineering(NICE)methodology.The carbonyl groups of CB[n]act as proton-conducting sites,while the host–guest interaction between CB[n]and water molecules offers extra protonconducting pathways.Additionally,the molecular size of CB[n]aids in their dispersion within the SPEEK matrix,effectively bridging the unconnected proton-conducting sulfonic group domains within the SPEEK membrane.Consequently,all hybrid membranes exhibit significantly enhanced proton conductivity.Notably,the SPEEK membrane incorporating 1 wt.%CB[8](CB[8]/SPEEK-1%)demonstrates the highest proton conductivity of 198.0 mS·cm^(−1) at 60°C and 100%relative humidity(RH),which is 228%greater than that of the pure SPEEK membrane under the same conditions.Moreover,hybrid membranes exhibit superior fuel cell performance.The CB[8]/SPEEK-1%membrane achieves a maximum power density of 214 mW·cm^(−2),representing a 140%improvement over the pure SPEEK membrane(89 mW·cm^(−2))at 50°C and 100%RH.These findings serve as a foundation for constructing continuous proton-conducting pathways within membranes by utilizing supramolecular macrocycles as fuel cell electrolytes and in other applications.

关 键 词：supramolecular macrocycle proton conductivity cucurbit[n]uril proton exchange membrane fuel cell 

分 类 号：O62[理学—有机化学]