Synthesis of Proton-Exchange Membranes by a Plasma Polymerization Technique

Abstract

An after-glow capacitively coupled discharge technique has been used to fabricate ultra-thin proton-exchange composite membranes in a plasma polymerization reactor, where styrene and acrylic acid are used as starting materials. During the preparation, the energy of the ionized particles extracted from the radio frequency glow discharge region to the plasma polymerization region can be easily controlled by adjusting the bias voltage applied to the screen grids and substrate. Therefore, the degradation of monomers can be effectively avoided, and the contents of the proton exchange groups on the obtained membranes could reach to a higher extent. The synthesized membranes are dense with uniform structure and are demonstrated as good proton conductors.