Polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) based on imidazole ring terminated flexible branches grafted on hybrid inorganic-organic polymers

A fuel cell including:

• a first electrode;
• a second electrode;
• and
• a proton-conducting membrane located between the first electrode and the second electrode,
• the proton-conducting membrane including a proton-conducting material,
• the proton-conducting material comprising a material formed from the copolymerization of at least three silanes, including a first silane, a second silane, and a third silane,
• the first silane comprising a first silane group, a terminal group, and a linking group connecting the terminal group to the first silane group,
• the terminal group including at least one atom providing a Ione pair of electrons
• the terminal group of the first silane including an imidazole ring,
• the second silane being a tetraalkoxysilane, and
• the third silane including a flexible organic chain.

A proton-conducting material, comprising

• a polymer network, including silicon atoms and oxygen atoms;
• and
• organic side-chains attached to silicon atoms within the polymer network,
• each organic side-chain comprising a linking group and a terminal group, the linking group connecting the terminal group to a silicon atom of the polymer network,
• the terminal group including a heterocycle, the heterocycle including at least one atom chosen from a group consisting of nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur,
• the heterocycle being an aromatic heterocycle,
• the polymer network being an inorganic-organic hybrid polymer network,
• the proton-conducting material being a proton-conducting membrane,
• the linking group including a sulfoxy group.

A process for preparing a silane compound, the process comprising:

• providing a first compound, including a terminal group and a first reactive group, the terminal group including a heterocycle including at least one atom selected from a group consisting of nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur;
• providing a second compound, including a silane group and a second reactive group;
• providing a reaction between the first reactive group and the second reactive group so as to prepare the silane compound, the silane compound having the terminal group connected to the silane group through a linking group,
• the reaction being between a halogen atom and a thiol group, so that the linking group of the silane compound includes a sulfur atom, and
• the process further including oxidizing the sulfur atom so that the linking group includes sulfoxy group.

A silane compound, the silane compound comprising:

• a silane group, the silane group being hydrolyzable,
• a linking group, connected to the silane group, and
• a terminal group, attached to the linking group so that the linking group interconnects the silane group and the terminal group,
• the terminal group including an aromatic nitrogen-containing heterocycle,
• the linking group including a sulfoxy group.

A proton-conducting material including a copolymerization product of at least a first precursor and a second precursor,

• the first precursor including:
• a first polymerizable group,
• a linking group, and
• a terminal group, the terminal group being connected to the first polymerizable group through the linking group, the terminal group including an aromatic nitrogen-containing heterocycle;
• and
• the second precursor, having a second polymerizable group,
• the proton-conducting material being a proton-conducting membrane, and
• the linking group including a sulfoxy group.