Preparation and proton conductivity of acid-doped 5-aminotetrazole functional poly(glycidyl methacrylate)

Proton conducting polymer membranes have become crucial due their applications in fuel cells as source of clean energy. In this work, we synthesized poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) by conventional free radical polymerization of GMA using azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator. PGMA was modified with 5-aminotetrazole by ring opening of the epoxide group. The composition of the polymer was studied by elemental analysis (EA) and the structures were characterized by FT-IR and solid 13C NMR spectra. Thermogravimetry analysis (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were employed to examine the thermal stability and homogeneity of the materials, respectively. Polymers were doped with H3PO4 at several stoichometric ratios. The effect of doping on the proton conductivity was studied via impedance spectroscopy. Maximum proton conductivity of acid-doped PGMA-aminotetrazole was found to be 0.01 S/cm at 150 °C in the anhydrous state.