A hybrid bipolar membrane

A hybrid bipolar membrane was developed for high-temperature applications. In particular, the cation-exchange layer was prepared by hybridizing sulfonated poly (2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (SPPO) with (3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (A1100) while the anion-exchange layer was prepared from a hybrid anion-exchange material—poly(VBC-co-γ-MPS) (VBC, vinylbenzyl chloride; γ-MPS, γ-methacryloxypropyl trimethoxy silane). The results indicated that, by incorporation of inorganic silica in the anion/cation exchange layers, the bipolar membrane could have higher thermal stability and efficiency of water dissociation at 25–80 °C. Moreover, palygorskite and FeCl3 were added into the intermediate layer to further enhance water dissociation. All these modifications made the final hybrid bipolar membrane promising for use at high temperature.

Research highlights▶ Till now, organic–inorganic hybrid bipolar membranes have been seldom reported. ▶ The developed hybrid bipolar membrane have high thermal stability and exhibited better performances than non-hybrid bipolar membranes. ▶ The developed hybrid bipolar membrane is of low-cost and can be used in practical applications instead of the expensive bipolar membrane Neospeta BP-1.