• Membrane Journal
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.265-271
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• 2012

Polybenzimidazole (PBI) was prepared by condensation polymerization using diaminobenzidine (DAB) and isophtalic acid (IPAc). The cation exchange membrane was prepared by introduce the ion exchange group in the PBI polymer. It was confirmed from FT-IR analysis that the prepared PBI powder had same peak compared with commercial PBI power. The ionic conductivity of PBI film was $0.1{\sim}0.9{\times}10^{-2}$ S/cm. The ionic conductivity of prepared SPBI cation exchange membrane showed $3.7{\sim}4.7{\times}10^{-2}$ S/cm and had higher than Nafion117 ($2.0{\times}10^{-2}$ S/cm).

• Membrane Journal
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.442-455
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• 2022

High-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) has been studied as an alternative to low-temperature PEMFC due to its fast activation of electrodes and high resistance to electrode poisoning by carbon monoxide. It is highly required to develop stable PEMs operating at high temperatures even doped by ion-conducting materials for the development of high-performance and durable HT-PEMFC systems. A number of studies have been conducted to develop polybenzimidazole (PBI)-based PEMs for applications in HT-PEMFC due to their high interaction with doped ion-conducting materials and outstanding thermomechanical stability under high-temperature operation. This review focused on the development of PBI-based PEMs showing high performance and durability. Firstly, the characteristic behavior of PBI-based PEMs doped with various ion-conducting materials including phosphoric acid was systematically investigated. And then, a comparison of the physicochemical properties of the PEMs according to the different membrane manufacturing processes was conducted. Secondly, the incorporation of porous polytetrafluoroethylene substrate and/or inorganic composites to PBI matrix to improve the membrane performances was studied. Finally, the construction of cross-linked structures into PBI-based PEM systems by polymer blending method was introduced to improve the PEM properties.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.217-221
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• 2010

In order to overcome the drawback of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), solid alkalime membrane fuel cells (SAMFCs) have been studied. In this report, we synthesized new sulfonated polybenzimidazole derivatives for SAMFCs. The polyimidazole derivatives were doped by KOH, and base-doped polybenzimidazoles showed high hydroxy ion conductivity and excellent mechanical properties. Especially, sPBI-co-PBI (75 : 25 for molar ratio of sulfonated and non-sulfonated moiety) showed good possibility for the anion exchange membrane. It has $2.98{\times}10^{-2}\;S/cm$ at $90^{\circ}C$ under 100% relative humidity.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.279-304
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• 2023

Polybenzimidazole (PBI) based membranes have evolved in literature as a popular membrane material for various applications in the past two decades because of their high temperature thermal durability, strong mechanical and tensile properties, high glass transition temperature (T_g), ion conduction ability at elevated temperature (up to 200℃), oxidative or chemical durability along with robust network like structural rigidity, which make PBI membranes suitable for various potential applications in chemically challenging environments. Ion conducting PBI based membranes have been extensively utilized in high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFC). In addition, PBI based membranes have been vastly utilized for the development of gas separation membranes and organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes for their unique characteristics. This review will cover the recent progress and application of various types of flat sheet PBI based membranes for HT-PEMFC, gas separation and OSN application.

• Composites Research
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.373-379
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• 2021

A series of novel PBI/SrTiO₃ nanocomposite membranes composed of polybenzimidazole (PBI) and strontium titanate (SrTiO₃) with a perovskite structure were fabricated with various concentrations of SrTiO₃ through a solution casting method. Various characterization techniques such as proton nuclear magnetic resonance, thermogravimetric analysis, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and AC impedance spectroscopy were used to investigate the chemical structure, thermal, phosphate absorption and morphological properties, and proton conductivity of the fabricated nanocomposite membranes. The optimized PBI/SrTiO₃-8 polymer nanocomposite membrane containing 8wt% of SrTiO₃ showed a higher proton conductivity of 7.95 × 10^-2 S/cm at 160℃ compared to other nanocomposite membranes. The PBI/SrTiO₃-8 composite membrane also showed higher thermal stability compared to pristine PBI. In addition, the roughness change of the polymer composite membrane was also investigated by AFM. Based on these results, nanocomposite membranes based on perovskite structures are expected to be considered as potential candidates for high-temperature PEM fuel cell applications.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.578-586
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• 2018

In this study, we prepared the modified PBI random copolymer to reduce the problems of the pristine PBI about low solubility and proton conductivity. The random copolymer was synthesized from suberic acid, 5-aminoisophthalic acid, and 3,3'-diaminobenzidine to obtain $X_1Y_9$, $X_1Y_1$, $X_9Y_1$. Then, the membrane was fabricated by using solvent casting method with methanesulfonic acid at $140^{\circ}C$. Subsequently, the membrane was doped with phosphoric acid at $40^{\circ}C$. The chemical structure of the polymers was characterized by FT-IR. In addition, the physiochemical properties of the PBI were investigated by TGA, oxidative stability, acid uptake. Finally, the proton conductivity was measured at $100-180^{\circ}C$ without humidification. As the result, $X_1Y_9$ PBI random copolymer membrane showed higher conductivity.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.453-466
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• 2020

As the demand for eco-friendly energy increases to overcome the energy shortage and environmental pollution crisis, hydrogen economy has been proposed as a potential solution. Accordingly, an economical and efficient hydrogen production is considered to be an essential industrial process. Research on applying hydrogen separation membranes for H₂/CO₂ separation to the production of highly concentrated hydrogen by purifying H₂ and capturing CO₂ simultaneously from synthetic gas produced by gasification is in progress nowadays. In high temperature environments, the membrane separation process using glassy polymeric membrane with H₂ selectivity has the potential for CO₂ capture performance, and is an energy and cost effective system since polybenzimicazole (PBI)-based separators show excellent chemical and mechanical stability under high-temperature operation conditions. Thus, the development of high-performance PBI hydrogen separators has been rapidly progressing in recent years. This overview focuses on the recent developments of PBI-based membranes including structure modified, cross-linked, blended and carbonized membranes for applications to the industrial hydrogen separation process.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.643-651
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• 2019

Polybenzimidazole (PBI), an engineering polymer with well-known excellent thermal, chemical and mechanical stabilities has been recognized as an alternative to high temperature polymer electrolyte membranes (HT-PEMs). This review focuses on recent advances made on the development of PBI-based HT-PEMs for fuel cell applications. PBI-based membranes discussed were prepared by various strategies such as structural modification, cross-linking, blending and organic-inorganic composites. In addition, intriguing properties of the PBI-based membranes as well as their fuel cell performances were highligted.

• Korean Membrane Journal
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 2007

This paper describes the preparation and characterization of two kinds of fluorinated polybenzimidazole (PBI)s which can be potentially used for phosphoric acid-doped, high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Two kinds of perfluorocyclobutane (PFCB)-containing monomers were prepared via following synthetic steps; after fluoroalkylation of methyl 3-(hydroxy) benzoate and methyl 4-(hydroxy) benzoate with 1,2-dibromotetrafluoroethane and subsequent Zn-mediated dehalogenation, these compounds were cyclodimerized at $200^{\circ}C$ affording the ester-terminated monomers containing PFCB ether groups. The synthesized intermediates and monomers were characterized using FT-IR, $^1H-NMR,\;^{19}F-NMR$, and mass spectroscopy. The fluorinated PBIs were then successfully prepared through the solution polycondensation of the monomers and 3,3'-diaminobenzidine in polyphosphoric acid. Compared with traditional PBI, the glass transition temperatures of the fluorinated PBIs were obtained at $262^{\circ}C\;and\;269^{\circ}C$ which are lower than that of PBI and their initial degradation temperatures were still high over $400^{\circ}C$ under nitrogen. The fluorinated PBIs showed higher d-spacing values and improved solubility in several organic solvents as well as phosphoric acid, which confirmed they could be good candidates for the high temperature fuel cell membranes.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.228-240
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• 2021

The organic solvent robust polybenzimidazole (PBI) membranes were prepared as organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membrane for the recycling of alcoholic solvents using non-solvent induced phase separation with different dope solution concentration and coagulant composition of water/ethanol mixtures to control the membrane morphology and permeation performance. Investigation on crosslinking of polybenzimidazole indicated that the membrane crosslinked with dibromoxylene (DBX) had enough mechanical strength and solvent resistance to be applied as a OSN membranes. The crosslinked PBI membrane prepared by more than 20wt% dope concentration coagulated in water showed a rejection of > 90% to Congo Red (MW of 696.66 g/mol) while pure ethanol permeances was more than 22.5 LMH/bar at 5 bar. Investigation on coagulant composition indicated that ethanol permeance through crosslinked PBI OSN membrane increased with increasing of ethanol concentration in water/ethanol mixture coagulants.