Self-assembly prepared anion exchange membranes with high alkaline stability and organic solvent resistance

•A template-free assembly method has been developed for the synthesis of AEMs.•A synergistic grafting of alkyl siloxane groups to tertiary amines produces the zwitterionic polymer.•The Si-O-Si cross-linked network inhibits membrane swelling and improve the mechanical property.•The membrane showed excellent alkaline stability and solvent resistance.

A self-assembly strategy has been developed for the synthesis of anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) with high alkaline stability. Cardo poly(aryl ether sulfone ketone)s with pendent tertiary amine groups were grafted with alkyl siloxane to form a polymer with cation quaternary ammonium groups. This polymer produced a zwitterionic polymer via partially hydrolysis of the alkyl siloxane in weak basic medium. The flexible and transparent zwitterionic polymer membranes possessing a Si-O-Si cross-linked network were prepared via the sol-gel polycondensation reaction and a self-assembly process. The homogeneous and continuous Si-O-Si cross-linked network inhibited membrane swelling and improved the mechanical properties and thermochemical stability. The membrane showed alkaline stability in 1 M NaOH aqueous solution at 60 °C for 600 h and solvent resistance in polar aprotic solvents (DMAc, NMP, and DMSO) at 60 °C for 30 days.

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