New cation-exchange membranes based on cross-linked sulfonated polystyrene and polyethylene for power generation systems

The present paper is devoted to the properties of sulfonated cation-exchange membranes obtained by radiation chemical grafting polymerization of styrene with divinylbenzene on a polyethylene film. The mechanical and transport properties (conductivity, diffusion permeability, and transport numbers) of the membranes obtained with various amounts of a cross-linking agent (0–3.5%) and degrees of polystyrene grafting (23–32%) were investigated in comparison with commercially available membranes, i.e. Nafion® 117 and Neosepta® CMX. Tensile strength values around 15–20 MPa were obtained, and they increased with increasing cross-linker amounts. The conductivity of membranes containing no cross-linking agent reached 8.4·10 −2 Ω −1 cm −1 at 25 °C and high relative humidity. As the amount of the cross-linking agent increased, the water uptake in membranes and their conductivity at high relative humidity decreased, whereas the activation energy of conductivity increased. At low humidity (RH=30%), the water uptake and conductivity increased with increasing amounts of the cross-linking agent. The membranes based on cross-linked polystyrene had low diffusion permeability, while the associated cation transport numbers were higher than those with commercial Nafion® 117 membrane. The calculated theoretical power of reverse electrodialysis batteries based on the best membranes was 10% higher than that of the battery based on the Neosepta® CMX membrane.