Low Dispersity and High Conductivity Poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) Membranes Obtained by Inexpensive Free Radical Polymerization of Sodium 4-styrenesulfonate

Sepulveda, Victor Raul; Sierra, Ligia; López, Betty Lucy

doi:10.3390/membranes8030058

Open AccessArticle

Low Dispersity and High Conductivity Poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) Membranes Obtained by Inexpensive Free Radical Polymerization of Sodium 4-styrenesulfonate

by

Victor Raul Sepulveda

^*

,

Ligia Sierra

and

Betty Lucy López

Grupo de Investigación Ciencia de los Materiales, Instituto de Química, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín 050010, Colombia

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Membranes 2018, 8(3), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes8030058

Submission received: 5 July 2018 / Revised: 29 July 2018 / Accepted: 1 August 2018 / Published: 7 August 2018

(This article belongs to the Section Polymeric Membranes)

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Abstract

Controlled polymerizations are often used to synthesize polymers with low dispersity, which involves expensive initiators, constrained atmospheres, and multi-step purifying processes, especially with water soluble monomers. These drawbacks make the synthesis very expensive and of little industrial value. In this report, an inexpensive free radical polymerization of sodium 4-styrenesulfonate, using benzoyl peroxide as initiator in water/N,N-dimethylformamide solutions, is presented. After polymerization, an easy fiber precipitation method is implemented to extract and purify the polymer, obtaining conversions up to 99%, recoveries up to 98%, and molecular weight dispersities in the range of 1.15–1.85, where the pseudo-controlled behavior is attributed to a thermodynamic limiting molecular weight solubility. Three different methods were used to bring the polymer to its acid form, obtaining Ion Exchange Capacities as high as 4.8 meq/g. Finally, polymeric membranes were prepared and reached conductivities up to 164 mS/cm, which makes them good candidates as proton exchange membranes in fuel cells.

Keywords: low dispersity; free radical polymerization; sodium 4-styrenesulfonate

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MDPI and ACS Style

Sepulveda, V.R.; Sierra, L.; López, B.L. Low Dispersity and High Conductivity Poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) Membranes Obtained by Inexpensive Free Radical Polymerization of Sodium 4-styrenesulfonate. Membranes 2018, 8, 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes8030058

AMA Style

Sepulveda VR, Sierra L, López BL. Low Dispersity and High Conductivity Poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) Membranes Obtained by Inexpensive Free Radical Polymerization of Sodium 4-styrenesulfonate. Membranes. 2018; 8(3):58. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes8030058

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sepulveda, Victor Raul, Ligia Sierra, and Betty Lucy López. 2018. "Low Dispersity and High Conductivity Poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) Membranes Obtained by Inexpensive Free Radical Polymerization of Sodium 4-styrenesulfonate" Membranes 8, no. 3: 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes8030058

APA Style

Sepulveda, V. R., Sierra, L., & López, B. L. (2018). Low Dispersity and High Conductivity Poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) Membranes Obtained by Inexpensive Free Radical Polymerization of Sodium 4-styrenesulfonate. Membranes, 8(3), 58. https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes8030058

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Low Dispersity and High Conductivity Poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) Membranes Obtained by Inexpensive Free Radical Polymerization of Sodium 4-styrenesulfonate

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