The copolymerization of carbon monoxide and ethylene (two readily available and cheap feedstocks) leads to the formation of polyketone, a high performance thermoplastic that has found many applications resulting in its global production of thousands of tonnes per annum. The alternating 1,4-dicarbonyl functionality of aliphatic polyketone enables access, via classic Paal-Knorr chemistry, to a variety of new functionalized polymers [2]. Here we present a new ion conducting polymeric material derived from polyketone, that possess N-functionalized pyrrole units in the backbone (FPK) [3]. Ion-conductivities on the order of 10.6 and 8.6 mScm-1 for the hydroxide and iodide forms of methylated FPKs have been achieved at 80 oC, with the hydroxide FPK demonstrating high resistance towards alkaline conditions for over 20 hours at 80 oC.
The flexibility in the choice of the N-substituent renders these new materials higher tailorable and potentially useful in a range of energy storage/conversion technologies as either proton or anion exchange membranes.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the Strategic Project of the University of Padova “Materials for Membrane-Electrode Assemblies to Electric Energy Conversion and Storage Devices (MAESTRA)” for funding. V.D.N. thanks the University Carlo III of Madrid for granting him the “Catedra de Excelentia” (Chair of Excellence).
References
[1] S. Eckroad in Handbook of Energy Storage for Transmission or Distribution Applictions, Electric Power Research Institute Report 1007189, California, USA (2002)
[2] A. Sen et al., Macromolecules, 22, (1989), 2012, A.A. Broekhuis et al., J. Apply. Polm. Sci., (2016), 42924, A.A. Broekhuis et al., J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 107, (2008), 107, 262, A.A. Broekhuis, Dyes and Pigments, 98, (2013), 51
[3] N. Ataollahi, K. Vezzù, G. Nawn, G. Pace, G. Cavinato, F. Girardi, P. Scardi, V. Di Noto, R. Di Maggio, Electrochimica Acta., 226 (2017) 148-157.