Nanoporous polysulfone membranes via a degradable block copolymer precursor for redox flow batteries

Authors

B. P. Gindt, University of MemphisFollow
D. G. Abebe, University of MemphisFollow
Z. J. Tang, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
M. B. Lindsey, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
J. Chen, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
R. A. Elgammal, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
T. A. Zawodzinski, Oak Ridge National LaboratoryFollow
T. Fujiwara, University of MemphisFollow

Abstract

Nanoporous polysulfone (PSU) membranes were fabricated via post-hydrolysis of polylactide (PLA) from PLA-PSU-PLA triblock copolymer membranes. The PSU scaffold was thermally crosslinked before sacrificing PLA blocks. The resulting nanopore surface was chemically modified with sulfonic acid moieties. The membranes were analyzed and evaluated as separators for vanadium redox flow batteries. Nanoporous PSU membranes prepared by this new method and further chemically modified to a slight degree exhibited unique behavior with respect to their ionic conductivity when exposed to solutions of increasing acid concentration.

Publication Title

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

Recommended Citation

Gindt, B., Abebe, D., Tang, Z., Lindsey, M., Chen, J., Elgammal, R., Zawodzinski, T., & Fujiwara, T. (2016). Nanoporous polysulfone membranes via a degradable block copolymer precursor for redox flow batteries. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 4 (11), 4288-4295. https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ta00698a