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Investigation of solvent–solute interactions and film properties of perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers

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Abstract

In this work, solvent composition effects on the average particle size and polydispersity of the commercial perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) membrane, i.e., Flemion®, in different solution mixtures were studied. Dynamic light scattering experiments were employed to determine the aggregate sizes of dispersed PFSA polymers in different water/alcohol solutions. The particle size distribution of the solute was analyzed and discussed for different solvent–solute systems. As the solvent gets more compatible with the Flemion®, the particle size reduced. Increasing the water content in propanol/water mixture increased the average particle size of the solute. Comparing three solution mixtures shows that the mean particle size increased as the solvent was changed in the order of ethanol, methanol and propanol. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) tests were conducted on the films obtained by recasting from different solution compositions. The results of DSC tests were used to investigate the water absorption and other thermal behavior. Structural properties such as equivalent weight of the polymer, free volume and the degree of aggregation of ionic groups or size of the clusters can influence the water uptake. DSC test results showed four different endothermic peaks which can be attributed to removal of surface and intergrain structural absorbed water, melting of crystalline segments and thermal degradation of the polymer, respectively.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support of Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute to carry out this research.

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Correspondence to Mohammad Ebrahim Zeynali.

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Zeynali, M.E., Mohammadi, F. & Rabiee, A. Investigation of solvent–solute interactions and film properties of perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers. Iran Polym J 25, 589–596 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-016-0448-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-016-0448-2

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