Increase In Ion-exchange Capacity Research Articles

An efficient composite membrane to improve the performance of PEM reversible fuel cells

In this study innovative composite Nafion/GO membranes are tested at different GO loading (0.5% wt., 1% wt. and 1.5% wt.) in electrolyser and fuel cell mode (Unitized reversible fuel cell). Baseline Nafion membranes were used for comparison.Water uptake (WU), ion exchange capacity (IEC), tensile strength, TGA (thermogravimetric analysis) and SEM (scanning electron microscope) analysis are discussed. The SEM revealed the inclusion of GO into the Nafion matrix while the TGA showed an increased thermal stability of the membrane attributed to the inclusion of the carbon material. Moreover, the addition of GO improves the membrane tensile strength, obtaining a maximum enhancement of nearly 90%, while reducing the elongation ratio (80% for the Nafion and 45% for the 1.5% wt. GO membrane). Water uptake increased when increasing the content of GO due to its hydrophilic nature recording the highest values for the membrane with 1.5%wt. of GO (23% against 10% for the Nafion). An increase of IEC (almost 14%) is noticed when GO content is increased. The beneficial effect of GO on the IEC can be attributed to a non-uniform distribution of GO into the Nafion matrix but needs further investigation.Both fuel cell and electrolyser polarization curves were carried out using MEAs with an active area of 9 cm2 and a thickness of 50 μm. The temperature and the pressure were set to 20 °C and 1 atm respectively. Regarding fuel cell mode, the optimum loading of GO has been found to be 0.5%, registering the highest performance, 13% higher than Nafion. Regarding the electrolyser mode, the GO 0.5% wt. membrane, showed performance comparable to the Nafion. A comparison between Nafion based membranes at higher thicknesses showed that, adopting GO, it is possible to obtained similar performance with a reduced membrane thickness, keeping almost equal the performance and the average round trip efficiency (26.1% for the GO and 26.6% for the Nafion). In commercial applications such characteristics allows to strongly reduce the cost of materials.Durability and stability of the GO/Nafion membrane should be properly investigated in successive studies as such membranes are subjected to a rapid deterioration of their performance.

Co-composting with cow dung and subsequent vermicomposting improve compost quality of spent mushroom

In order to determine a feasible degrading process for spent mushroom (SMS) with high lignin content, the present work used cow dung (CD), SMS, and a mixture of CD and SMS as substrates and evaluated the effects of vermicomposting on the microflora and the quality of composting products. Bacterial (R2 = 0.548, P = 0.001) and fungal (R2 = 0.314, P = 0.005) community both were different between composting and vermicomposting. Vermicomposting and substrates affected enzyme activities indirectly by affecting ammonium, pH, total carbon, richness, and bacterial community composition. These results suggested that appropriate regulation of environmental factors may increase microbial activity. An increase in ion-exchange capacity (up to 139.8%), pH (6.9%), and nitrate (71.1%) and a decrease in total carbon (31.2%) and carbon/nitrogen ratio (32.1%) in vermicomposting indicated that earthworms could further improve product quality. Co-composting with CD and integrated subsequent vermicomposting efficiently promoted the maturity of SMS.

Chemical physics insight of PPy-based modified ion exchange membranes: A fundamental approach

Four commercially available, cost-effective ion exchange membranes (two cationic and two anionic exchange membranes, CEMs and AEMs, respectively) were modified to mitigate crossover phenomena of the redox active species typically observed in Aqueous Organic Redox Flow Batteries (AORFB) systems. The modification strategy was carried out using a pyrrole(Py)-based polymer which successfully reduced the permeation of two redox active organic molecules, a viologen derivative (named BP7 throughout this study) and TEMPOL, by an order of magnitude. Additionally, modified membranes showed not significant changes in ion conductivity, with negligible effect on the electrical conductivity of the membranes at a given conditions. The morphology, physicochemical, mechanical, and electrochemical properties of the membranes were determined to evaluate the impact of these modifications. AEMs modified in this manner were found to have optimal properties, showing an increase in ion exchange capacity while maintaining excellent mechanical stability and unaltered permselectivity. Additionally, the diffusion boundary layer of these AEMs was slightly extended, which suggests a greater double layer stability for ion exchange processes than in the case of CEMs. Our work shows that these modified membranes could be an appealing approach for AORFB applications.

Fabrication of Cation Exchange Membrane for Microbial Fuel Cells

In this study the cation exchange membranes(CEM) were fabricated using 3 different compositions of sulphonated poly vinyl alcohol (SPVA) and phosphorylated graphene oxide(PGO) in weight ratios by physicalmixing and casting method. Loading of PGO in the SPVA improvedwater uptake property which signifies increase in ion exchange capacity(IEC) and proton conductivity as presence of acidic groups were characterized. These fabricated membranes performances were assessed in microbial fuel cells(MFCs) and characterized using XRD and FTIR for its compositional analysis. Due to proper proton conducting channelsmost suitable CEM (SPVA-PGO-3) revealed higher proton conductivity 9.0 x 10-2 S/cm at 27oC, water uptake 114%, area swelling 54.2% and ion exchange capacity (IEC) 1.92 meq/g. The power density obtained for this composite membrane applied in MFC-3 was observed to be 503.1 mW/m2 while the COD removal results obtained as 80.8 %.

Electrochemical Properties of Chemically Treated Polyvinylchloride‐Based Heterogeneous Cation‐Exchange Membrane

Chemical treatment is a facile method for improving electrochemical properties of a heterogeneous ion‐exchange membrane. In this work, polyvinylchloride (PVC)‐based heterogeneous cation‐exchange membrane is prepared by a dry–wet phase inversion process. The membrane is treated with a sulfuric acid solution in a room and a high temperature (80 °C). Effects of the treatment procedure and hydrophilic additive on membrane electrochemical properties are investigated. Chemically treated PVC and PVC/additive heterogeneous cation‐exchange membranes show a change in membrane electrochemical properties in terms of water uptake (Wu), conductivity, ion‐exchange capacity (IEC), and permselectivity (Ps). In general, Wu and conductivity increase after the chemical treatment. Significant improvement is observed when a high temperature is used. Meanwhile, the conductivity is more pronounced for PVC/additive membranes. The improvement may be associated with an increase in hydrophilicity. A significant increase in IEC is also observed for modified PVC/additive membrane. This may be associated with the removal or leaching of the additive during the treatment which in turn increases the portion of ion‐exchange resins in the membrane. Most of the modified membranes show a decrease in Ps. It may be due to a decrease in the effectiveness of Donnan effect indicated by Donnan equilibrium constant (K+). POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:E219–E226, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers

Characterization and cleaning of anion-exchange membranes used in electrodialysis of polyphenol-containing food industry solutions; comparison with cation-exchange membranes

Abstract This paper concerns the mechanisms of aging of ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) during their use in electrodialysis (ED) of food industry solutions containing polyphenols (PPs), as well as their cleaning. The study focuses on anion-exchange membranes (AEMs); their behavior is compared with that of cation-exchange membranes (CEMs). First, physicochemical static characteristics, structural, morphological and tensile strength parameters are determined for new AEMs and two batches of used AEMs at different duration of their use in industry, subjected to regular “Cleaning In Place”. Second, non-aggressive and economic ex-situ static cleaning methods involving the application of NaCl at 35 g L−1, a reconstituted seawater and a water-ethanol mixture acidified with H2SO4 were examined. During the cleaning process, the evolution of physicochemical parameters, such as ion-exchange capacity (IEC), electrical conductivity (κm) and contact angle (θ), were followed. It is shown that the application of NaCl solution has a negligible effect on IEC and κm; when soaking the membranes in the reconstituted seawater, κm even slightly decreases; however, there is a significant increase in these parameters when soaking the membranes in the acidified water-ethanol solution. As for the mechanism of fouling, PPs are the main responsible constituents. Apparently, they form dense colloidal nanoparticles not permeable for ions within membrane meso- and macropores, not penetrating into micropores. A modification of the microheterogeneous model under this assumption allows an adequate description of membrane conductivity and explains the fact that the membrane pore size increases with the duration of membrane utilization, while the apparent volume fraction of the inter-gel solution (f2app) decreases. CEMs are found less prone to fouling. The soaking of CEMs in the water-ethanol solution leads to an increase in IEC and f2app by 33% and 60%, respectively, as well as to doubling κm and decreasing θ by 23%, after a 120 h. treatment.

Synthesis and characterization of sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (SPEEK)/ CNTs composite proton exchange membrane for application in fuel cells

Sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (SPEEK) membrane was synthesized and evaluated for its application in proton exchange membrane. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and SPEEK composite membrane was also prepared using solution casting method and evaluated for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) application. The FT-IR and UV- visible spectra confirmed the successful sulfonation of PEEK. Results showed an increase in ion exchange capacity (IEC) value from 1.426mmol/g to 1.502mmol/g for SPEEK and SPEEK/0.7%CNTs composite. The degree of sulfonation (DS %) was determined by back titration method and the value was found to be 46% and 49 % for SPEEK and SPEEK/0.7%CNTs composite respectively. The conductivity of the SPEEK membrane was found to be 9.93 mS/cm and for composite membrane (SPEEK/0.7%CNTs) the value of conductivity exceeded approximately two times and found to be 22.44 mS/cm. The ratio of water uptake and swelling was observed to decrease proving the good quality of the membrane.

Preparation of high-dispersion Ni/C catalyst using modified lignite as carbon precursor for catalytic reforming of biomass volatiles

Lignite is rich in oxygen-containing species (OCSs) and able to load Ni via ion exchange to prepare Ni/C catalyst. However, the OCSs usually exists in the form of organic salts, which can reduce the capacity of Ni ion exchange. In this paper, Shengli lignite (SL) was treated with HCl and HCl/HF to selectively remove the organic salts and insoluble minerals, respectively, and the modified lignite was oxidized by H2O2 to further increase the carboxyl content. The treated lignite was used to prepare Ni/C catalyst and the activity for biomass volatile reforming was evaluated. The results show that demineralization (DM) caused the corrosion of pore structure of SL and gave a Ni/C catalyst with a low specific surface area (SSA) of 222.1m2/g. Oxidation with H2O2 further destroyed the structure of DMSL and provided a Ni/C with the lowest SSA of 141.1m2/g. Acid wash (AW) with HCl resulted in the increase of ion exchange capacity of SL and gave a Ni/C catalyst with larger SSA, higher loading, lower particle size and well dispersion of Ni particle in comparison with SL and DMSL. H2O2 treatment of AWSL significantly increased the amount of carboxyl group to 3.8mmol/g and gave a Ni/C with the largest SSA of 291.1m2/g, highest Ni loading of 17.3% and smallest Ni crystallite size of 3.4nm, as well as most active for corncob volatile reforming.

Erratum: Evaluation Of proton conductivity of sulfonated polyimide/dihydroxy naphthalene charge‐transfer complex hybrid membranes

Sulfonated polyimide (SPI)/dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN) charge-transfer (CT) complex hybrid films were investigated as possible alternative for polymer electrolyte membranes in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. SPI/DHN CT complex hybrid films include CT complexes, which might work as electronic conductors, and sulfonic acid units, which could work as proton conductors. Therefore, the origin of the conductivity of SPI/DHN complex hybrid films was evaluated by four-probe impedance measurements in the through-plane direction of the films. The obtained conductivity of the CT complex hybrid films increased with the increase of ion exchange capacity of the CT films and the decrease of CT complex concentration in the films. These results indicated that proton transfer dominantly occurred in the CT complex hybrid films. Proton conductivity of the CT complex hybrid films consisting of 2,6- or 1,5-DHN showed the similar values, although the molecular geometries of the CT complex were different. The activation energy values for proton conductivity in the CT films were approximately the same as that of Nafion 212. Water uptake (WU) results were also conducted and suggest that CT complex formation could control the degree of WU of the films and prevent dissolution of SPI. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014, 52, 2991–2997

Evaluation of proton conductivity of sulfonated polyimide/dihydroxy naphthalene charge-transfer complex hybrid membranes

Sulfonated polyimide (SPI)/dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN) charge-transfer (CT) complex hybrid films were investigated as possible alternative for polymer electrolyte membranes in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. SPI/DHN CT complex hybrid films include CT complexes, which might work as electronic conductors, and sulfonic acid units, which could work as proton conductors. Therefore, the origin of the conductivity of SPI/DHN complex hybrid films was evaluated by four-probe impedance measurements in the through-plane direction of the films. The obtained conductivity of the CT complex hybrid films increased with the increase of ion exchange capacity of the CT films and the decrease of CT complex concentration in the films. These results indicated that proton transfer dominantly occurred in the CT complex hybrid films. Proton conductivity of the CT complex hybrid films consisting of 2,6- or 1,5-DHN showed the similar values, although the molecular geometries of the CT complex were different. The activation energy values for proton conductivity in the CT films were approximately the same as that of Nafion 212. Water uptake (WU) results were also conducted and suggest that CT complex formation could control the degree of WU of the films and prevent dissolution of SPI. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014, 52, 2991–2997

Preparation of phase-transfer catalytic porous membrane by γ-ray irradiation grafting and its application in nucleophilic substitution reaction

Phase-transfer catalytic porous polyethylene membranes, prepared by γ-ray irradiation grafting of 4-vinyl pyridine and quaternization, were tested in nucleophilic substitution reaction. The effects of grafting conditions (irradiation dose, 4-vinyl pyridine concentration) and quaternization parameters (temperature, time, concentration of reagent) were investigated. It was found that, the grafting degree initially increases with irradiation dose or 4-vinyl pyridine concentration and then decreases. The ion exchange capacity and quaternization ratio of membranes rise with quaternization temperature, time, and reagent concentration. The quaternized membranes exhibit good phase-transfer activity in nucleophilic substitution reaction between n-bromooctane and KI aqueous solution. The n-bromooctane conversion and the observed reaction rate constant rise with the increase in ion exchange capacity of membranes or reaction temperature. This paper provides a novel and promising method for phase transfer catalysis.

Contribution to the study of properties of Selemion AMV anion exchange membranes in acidic media

Besides the strongly basic quaternary amines as well-known in the literature, the presence of pyridine groups at the interface of Selemion AMV membrane was evidenced by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Infrared techniques for the first time. Quantity of the weak base functionalities was determined via the exceptional sorption properties of sulfuric acid in the membrane. This work also offered a simple way for quantitative analysis of both the sorbed acid content and the weak amine amount together. Increase in ion exchange capacity of the membrane in acidic solution due to the protonation reaction of these weakly basic groups altered the conformation and hydrophilicity of the functionalized polyelectrolyte phase which, in turn, affected the content of sorbed non-exchange acid as well as the volume fraction of the interstitial solution within the membrane. On the basis of the obtained results in this work and those recently published by the other research groups, our suggestion is the dominant role of the gel phase toward the overall membrane properties. Full membrane characterization also led to evaluate the chronopotentiometric curves of the AMV in H2SO4 and HCl solutions which show a typical behavior of homogeneous ion exchange membranes. Only sulfate anions are responsible for the electric transport inside the membrane in contact with 0.1M sulfuric acid notwithstanding the fact that the bulk solution is mainly occupied by bisulfate counter-ions (about 90%) and the membrane contains both quaternary amines and pyridinium cations as fixed ionic groups.

Preparation and characterization of composite membranes based on sulfonated PEEK and AlPO4 for PEMFCs

Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) and their composites are considered one of the most promising alternatives for Nafion, the industry benchmark for electrolytic membranes in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. In the present study, PEEK was non-homogeneously sulfonated using concentrated H2SO4 at different temperatures (room temperature, 60°C, and 80°C) and time durations (5, 7, 48, and 72h). Composite membranes of SPEEK with different weight ratios of AlPO4 synthesized by sol–gel were also prepared. Depending on the degree of sulfonation (DS), the Ion Exchange Capacity (IEC) of the membranes varied from 1.06 to 2.9meqg−1. XRD results show the increasing amorphous nature of the membranes with increase in IEC and DS value. The water uptake of the membranes also increased with DS. Simultaneous TGA–FTIR measurement of the composite membranes showed better thermal stability compared to pure SPEEK membranes. The water uptake and proton conductivity of the composite SPEEK membranes were found to be lower than that of pure SPEEK membranes, while the composite membranes exhibited a better swelling behavior and mechanical stability than the pure SPEEK samples.

Polybenzimidazoles with pendant quaternary ammonium groups as potential anion exchange membranes for fuel cells

A series of novel polybenzimidazoles with pendant quaternary ammonium groups (QPBIs) have been synthesized by grafting 4-methyl-4-glycidylmorpholin-4-ium chloride (MGMC) onto the polybenzimidazole with pendant amino groups (H 2N-PBI) at 80 °C for 10 h. The grafting yields are estimated to be 104, 84 and 50% by elemental analysis, respectively at the feed ratio of MGMC/H 2N-PBI = 2:1, 3:2 and 1:1. The remaining unreacted pendant amino hydrogen atoms of the H 2N-PBI were further used to react with the epoxy groups of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) for cross-linking. The hydroxide conductivity of the cross-linked QPBI membranes increases with an increase in ion exchange capacity (IEC) and temperature. The highest hydroxide conductivity of 0.056 S cm −1 has been achieved with the QPBI-2/1 (here, the ‘2/1’ refers to the molar ratio of MGMC to H 2N-PBI in feed) membrane at 80 °C under fully hydrated state. All the QPBI main chains show extremely good chemical stability in strong alkaline solution (6.0 M NaOH) at 60 °C. However, the quaternary ammonium groups of the QPBI membranes except the QPBI-1/1 are unstable (degradable) in 6.0 M NaOH at 60 °C leading to large reduction in hydroxide conductivity.

Comparative Studies on Morphological, Electrochemical, and Mechanical Properties of S-Polyvinyl Chloride Based Heterogeneous Cation-Exchange Membranes with Different Resin Ratio Loading

Heterogeneous types of ion exchange membranes were prepared from S-polyvinyl chloride (S-PVC) as binder and tetrahydrofuran as solvent. Cation exchange resin powder was used in casting solutions to make ion exchange membranes with cationic functional groups. The relationship between resin ratio loading and morphological, electrochemical, and mechanical properties of prepared membranes were studied and evaluated. Membrane potential measurements were performed in monovalent (NaCl) and bivalent (BaCl2) electrolyte solutions in order to observe the selectivity of these membranes for different types of counterions. The results reveal that an increment of resin ratio loading leads to an increase of ion exchange capacity, fixed ion concentration, ionic permeability, current efficiency, water content, hydrophilicity, transport number, conductivity, and specific surface area for prepared membranes. However, the electrical resistance, energy consumption, membrane oxidative stability, and mechanical properties were ...

Elaboration, characterization and application of polysulfone and polyacrylic acid blends as ultrafiltration membranes for removal of some heavy metals from water

Polysulfone (PSf)/polyacrylic acid ultrafiltration (PSf/PAA) membranes were prepared from a polymer blend in dimethylformamide by coagulation in water according to the wet phase inversion method. Immobilization of water-soluble PAA within the non-soluble PSf matrix was proven by the increase of ion exchange capacity and the intensity of the carboxyl groups’ peak with the increase of PAA content as shown by Fourier transform infrared spectra. These results lead to consider that PSf and PAA form a semi-interpenetrating polymer networks. The obtained membranes showed a decrease of mean surface-pore sizes, the overall porosity and the hydraulic permeability with the increase in PAA content. Such results were imputed to the morphologic modifications of PSf film with the immobilization of increasing PAA amount. PSf/PAA membranes showed high lead, cadmium and chromium rejection which reaches 100% at pH superior to 5.7 and a low rejection at low pH. Moreover, the heavy metal rejection decreases with feed solution concentration and applied pressure increases. These behaviors were attributed to the role of carboxylic groups in ion exchange or complexation. As a matter of fact, the strong lead ion–PAA interactions were revealed by the scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-rays (SEM-EDX).

Silica nanoparticle-templated methacrylic acid monoliths for in-line solid-phase extraction–capillary electrophoresis of basic analytes

Polymeric ion-exchange monoliths typically exhibit low capacities due to the limited surface area on the globules of the monoliths. The ion-exchange binding of protonated weakly basic analytes on deprotonated carboxylate sites on methacrylate polymer monoliths has been increased by templating the monoliths with silica nanoparticles. The templating method is achieved by adding the nanoparticles as a suspension to the polymerisation mixture. After polymerisation, the nanoparticles are removed by washing the monolith with strong base. Monolithic columns prepared using this procedure have exhibited a 33-fold increase in ion-exchange capacity when compared to untemplated monoliths prepared and treated under similar conditions. The templating procedure does not alter the macroporous properties of the polymer monolith, confirmed through scanning electron microscopy and BET surface area analysis, but provides increased capacity predominantly through the re-orientation of more carboxylic acid groups. The resulting increase in ion-exchange capacity has proven to be useful for the preconcentration and separation of neurotransmitters by in-line solid-phase extraction–capillary electrophoresis. The increased capacity of the templated monolith allowed the injection time to be increased 10 times over that of an untemplated monolith, allowing 10 times more sample to be injected with the efficiencies and recoveries remaining unaffected. The enhancement in sensitivity for the test mixture of neurotransmitter (dopamine, norepinephrine and metanephrine) ranged 1500–1900 compared to a normal hydrodynamic injection in capillary electrophoresis. Efficiencies obtained for the neurotransmitters were 100 000–260 000 plates, typical of those obtained in capillary zone electrophoresis. The applicability of the increased capacity silica nano-templated polymer monolith was demonstrated by analysing trace levels of caffeine in biological, food and environmental samples.

Rapid Proton Conduction through Unfreezable and Bound Water in a Wholly Aromatic Pore-Filling Electrolyte Membrane

We found that protons rapidly conduct through unfreezable and bound water in a pore-filling electrolyte membrane (PF-membrane), although many ions usually conduct through free water contained in polymer electrolytes. PF-membrane is a unique membrane that can suppress the swelling of filled sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPES) because of its rigid polyimide substrate. Based on low-temperature DSC measurements, this strong suppression of swelling resulting from the special structure of the polymer electrolyte results in unfreezable and bound water only; it does not contain any free water. Protons rapidly conduct through this structure. In addition, the activation energy of the proton conduction decreased from 16.3 to 9.1 kJ/mol in proportion to the increase in the ion exchange capacity (IEC) of the filled SPES, unlike the almost constant values of the SPES-cast membranes. This tendency of PF-membrane occurred because of the structure of the membrane, where the concentration of the sulfonic acid groups increased with increase in IEC, which became possible by squeezing free water using the swelling suppression of filled SPES. Without being constrained by the PF-membrane, this unique proton conduction through the structured water and highly concentrated sulfonic acid groups will help to develop future polymer electrolytes, particularly in the fuel cell field where protons need to conduct at various conditions such as temperatures below 0 degrees C, combined high temperature and low humidity, and the presence of fuels.

Preparation and characterization of chloromethylated/quanternized poly (phthalazinone ether sulfone) anion exchange membrane

Chloromethylated poly (phthalazione ether sulfone) (CMPPES) material was prepared with chloromethyl ether as chloromethylating regent and sulfuric acid as solvent. The effect of chloromethyl ether quantity on the chlorinity degree of chloromethylation (DCM) of CMPPES was investigated. DCM of CMPPES was in the range of 1.94–2.89 mmol/g. CMPPES were identified with 1H NMR and TGA. Compared with PPES, the thermal stability of CMPPES decreases obviously. The CMPPES was dissolved in NMP (10 wt%) and cast on glass to form a membrane. The final anion exchange membranes were prepared by soaking CMPPES in trimethylatine (33%) to aminate. Ion-exchange capacity (IEC), water content, dimensional stability and membrane area resistance of the anion exchange membranes were investigated. It was found that IEC of final anion exchange membrane was between 1.38 and 2.12 mmol/g, and water content of anion exchange membrane increased with an increase of IEC, however, dimensional stability and area resistance of membranes for 2 M VOSO 4 in 3 M H 2SO 4 solution decreased. The area resistance was lower than Nafion112.

Poly(arylene ether)s with pendant sulfoalkoxy groups prepared by direct copolymerization method for proton exchange membranes

A novel sulfonated monomer sodium-3-(4-(2,6-difluorobenzoyl)phenoxy)propane-1-sulfonate was designed and synthesized. Based on above monomer, a series of sulfonated poly(arylene ether) copolymers containing aliphatic acid groups between aromatic backbones and sulfonic acid groups (PSOA-SPAE) were successfully prepared by direct copolymerization. Ion exchange capacity (IEC) of the copolymers could be mediated in the range of 1.07–1.61 meq g −1 by the monomer ratios used in the copolymerization. These copolymers exhibited good oxidative and dimensional stability. The proton conductivities of copolymer films increased with the increase of IEC and temperature. The conductivity of PSOA-SPAE-80 was 4.94 × 10 −2 S cm −1 at room temperature, and was up to 1.35 × 10 −1 S cm −1 at 100 °C, which was close to that of Nafion 117. These copolymers may be promising proton exchange membranes (PEMs) due to their high proton conductivity and good oxidative and dimensional stability.