Research progress on molecular structure of anion exchange membrane for fuel cells

The development of anion exchange membranes (AEMs), which are the core components of fuel cells, has received widespread attention. However, the disordered and directly connected structure of polymer skeleton and cationic groups in AEMs leads to the problems of low ionic conductivity, poor alkali stability and insufficient mechanical property in the application process of the membrane. Thus, it is necessary to design the molecular structure connecting the polymer skeleton and cationic groups and develop AEMs with excellent comprehensive performance. The basic mechanism of the selective permeation of AEMs was introduced, and the research progress of AEMs with different molecular structures, such as block structure, graft structure, cross-linked structure, partial high density structure and composite structure composed of partial high density structure and the other three kinds of structures, was reviewed. The performance improvement of AEMs was summarized from the aspects of ionic conductivity, alkali stability, mechanical property and water absorption, and the trade-off between ionic conductivity and water absorption of AEMs was focused on. Finally, the future development direction of fuel cell AEMs from the aspects of molecular structure and its combination was prospected. © 2022 Chemical Industry Press. All rights reserved.