Anion exchange membrane prepared from simultaneous polymerization and quaternization of 4-vinyl pyridine for non-aqueous vanadium redox flow battery applications

• AEMs were prepared by a simple, single step and environmentally friendly process.
• Anion exchange membrane synthesis by simultaneous polymerization and quaternization.
• Quaternization with bifunctional agent introduces crosslinking.
• The permeability of charged species was suppressed due to the crosslinking.
• The maximum energy efficiency of 87.7% was obtained in cyclic operation.

A simple, single step and environmentally friendly process is developed for the synthesis of anion exchange membrane (AEM) by simultaneous polymerization and quaternization, unlike the conventional membrane synthesis which consists of separate polymerization and quaternization step. The membrane synthesis is carried out by dissolving polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in cyclohexanone along with 4-vinyl pyridine (4VP) and 1,4-dibromobutane (DBB) in the presence of thermal initiator benzoyl peroxide, followed by film casting to get thin and flexible AEMs. The membrane properties such as ion exchange capacity, ionic conductivity and swelling behaviour are tuned by varying the degree of crosslinking. These AEMs exhibit low vanadium permeability, while retaining good dimensional and chemical stability in an electrolyte solution, making them appropriate candidates for non-aqueous vanadium acetylacetonate redox flow battery (VRFB) applications. The optimized membrane displays ion exchange capacity and ionic conductivity of 2.0 mequiv g−1 and 0.105 mS cm−1, respectively, whereas the efficiency of 91.7%, 95.7% and 87.7% for coulombic, voltage and energy parameter in non-aqueous VRFB, respectively. This study reveals that the non-aqueous VRFB performance is greatly influenced by membrane properties; therefore the optimal control over the membrane properties is advantageous for the improved performance.

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