Anisotropic proton-conducting membranes prepared from swift heavy ion-beam irradiated ETFE films

Poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) films were irradiated by swift heavy ion-beams of 129Xe23+ with fluences of 0, 3 × 106, 3 × 107, 3 × 108 and 3 × 109 ions/cm2, followed by γ-ray pre-irradiation for radiation grafting of styrene onto the ETFE films and sulfonation of the grafted ETFE films to prepare highly anisotropic proton-conducting membranes. The fluence of Xe ions and the addition of water in the grafting solvent were examined to determine their effect on the proton conductivity of the resultant membranes. It was found that the polymer electrolyte membrane prepared by grafting the styrene monomer in a mixture of 67% isopropanol and 33% water to the ETFE film with an ion-beam irradiation fluence of 3.0 × 106 ions/cm2 was a highly anisotropic proton-conducting material, as the proton conductivity was three or more times higher in the thickness direction than in the surface direction of the membrane.