Internal and interfacial structure analysis of graft‐type fluorinated polymer electrolyte membranes by small‐angle X‐ray scattering in the high‐q range

Abstract

AbstractThe hierarchical structures of poly(styrenesulfonic acid)‐grafted poly(ethylene‐co‐tetrafluoroethylene) polymer electrolyte membranes (ETFE‐PEMs) with different scale ranges including lamellar spacing, interfacial thickness, and intra‐structure of conducting layers were evaluated by small‐angle X‐ray scattering in terms of background scattering (I B(q)). First, I B(q) was roughly estimated by modifying Ruland's method and then optimized to avoid overestimation using a “contribution factor,” which is defined as the contribution of I B(q) to the observed scattering intensities over the entire q range. Then, I B(q) was optimized again by using the model for the deviation from Porod's law also proposed by Ruland to select proper q‐range for interfacial thickness evaluation. The lamellar spacing, which is observed in the low‐q range, was not altered by background correction. In contrast, in the high‐q range, the interfacial thickness and the internal structures can be estimated only after correction for the background scattering data. The interfacial thickness of the final membranes (ETFE‐PEMs) is affected by both the graft‐polymerization and sulfonation processes and because the change in membrane structures is observed during propagation steps at lower ion exchange capacity (IEC) range (IECs < 2.4 mmol/g), which should affect the mechanical strength of graft‐type PEMs.