Poly(Dibenzothiophene‐Terphenyl Piperidinium) for High‐Performance Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis

Abstract

AbstractThe anion exchange membrane water electrolysis is widely regarded as the next‐generation technology for producing green hydrogen. The OH− conductivity of the anion exchange membrane plays a key role in the practical implementation of this device. Here, we present a series of Z−S‐x membranes with dibenzothiophene groups. These membranes contain sulfur‐enhanced hydrogen bond networks that link surrounding surface site hopping regions, forming continuous OH− conducting highways. Z−S‐20 has a high through‐plane OH− conductivity of 182±28 mS cm−1 and ultralong stability of 2650 h in KOH solution at 80 °C. Based on rational design, we achieved a high PGM‐free alkaline water electrolysis performance of 7.12 A cm−2 at 2.0 V in a flow cell and demonstrated durability of 650 h at 2 A cm−2 at 40 °C with a cell voltage increase of 0.65 mV/h.