Organic/inorganic composite membranes comprising of sulfonated Poly(arylene ether sulfone) and core-shell silica particles having acidic and basic polymer shells

Abstract Sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES) based composite membranes were prepared with core-shell silica particles having poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid) and poly(4-vinylpyridine) in shell layers named S-Si and P-Si, respectively, to investigate the effect of acidic and basic silica fillers on membrane properties. The core-shell silica particles were obtained by hydrolysis of vinyltrimethoxysilane followed by radical polymerization of vinyl monomers (4-styrenesulfonic acid sodium salt and 4-vinylpyridine) on the silica particle with vinyl groups. Incorporation of S-Si and P-Si into SPAES increased dimensional stability, mechanical strength, and proton conductivity of the membranes. In particular, P-Si was found to be more effective filler materials to improve these properties by additional well-connected hydrophilic channels having sulfonate/pyridinium structures formed around the silica particles through the acid-base interaction between the pyridine groups of the P4VP shell and the sulfonic acid groups of SPAES.