Proton exchange membranes prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization for proton exchange membrane fuel cell: Recent advances and perspectives

Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) with well-defined microphase separation hold great promise for satisfying the demands of operation under high temperature and low humidity. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), as one of the most popular methods of controllable polymerization, has already been one of the most convenient tools for the synthesis of copolymers with well-defined microphase separated structures. This article tersely and concisely reviews the recent development of the PEMs prepared by ATRP for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. According to the different functional monomers in the polymerization, three kinds of membranes are systematically discussed in this feature article. The first membrane is made of copolymer grafted styrene by ATRP followed by post-sulfonation; the second membrane is prepared by directly grafting a sulfonated monomer to polymer using single-step ATRP; and the membranes grafted other types of monomers are divided into the third membranes. For each category of membrane, structures, properties, and their relationships are conducted targeted analysis. Finally, the perspectives of future trends on PEMs prepared via ATRP are presented.