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oai:figshare.com:article/34023352 2026-09-29T11:09:40Z category_1 category_4 category_146 category_8 category_19 category_21 category_272 category_873 category_133 portal_63 item_type_6 month_year_09_2026

Phenyl vs. Ethyl Spacer-Incorporated Sulfonated Poly(arylene alkylene) Membranes for Proton-Exchange-Membrane Water Electrolysis Jiapeng Wu (5718122) Jianming Deng (668240) Yangwu Chen (6810587) Wenwen Yang (428612) Xuan Chen (158617) Xiao Lin (20892) Jiarui Liang (20296664) Cong Wang (107450) Shaoyi Xu (6458015) Biophysics Biochemistry Space Science Microbiology Pharmacology Biotechnology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified Plant Biology superior dimensional stability sulfonated polyaromatic polymers incorporated sulfonated poly hydrophobic phase separation accelerated stress testing 99 mmol g 08 mmol g phenyl side chain ethyl side chain ion exchange capacity membrane water electrolysis water electrolysis phenyl vs ethyl spacer two series synthesized via robust durability excessive swelling based counterpart arylene alkylene The pursuit of durable and high-performance proton exchange membranes via rational molecular design is crucial for advancing green hydrogen production through water electrolysis. Two series of sulfonated polyaromatic polymers were synthesized via a facile superacid polycondensation followed by postsulfonation, one bearing nonsulfonable ethyl side chains and the other sulfonable phenyl side chains. Morphological characterizations confirmed distinct hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase separation in the ethyl side chain-based sulfonated polyaromatic polymer with an ion exchange capacity of 2.08 mmol g^–1. Compared to its phenyl side chain-based counterpart with an ion exchange capacity of 1.99 mmol g^–1, the ethyl side chain-based polymer exhibited higher proton conductivity and superior dimensional stability. The membrane electrode assembly based on the polymer with nonsulfonable spacers delivered excellent electrolysis polarization performance and robust durability. The phenyl side chain-based PEM suffered severe edge cracking at the membrane/porous transport layer interface after accelerated stress testing, caused by excessive swelling. 2026-09-29T00:00:00Z Text Journal contribution 10.1021/acsapm.6c02975.s001 https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Phenyl_vs_Ethyl_Spacer-Incorporated_Sulfonated_Poly_arylene_alkylene_Membranes_for_Proton-Exchange-Membrane_Water_Electrolysis/34023352 CC BY-NC 4.0