Host-guest coordination self-assembly gives anion exchange membranes better stability

Precisely designing the polymer electrolyte structure, constructing stable cations, and forming ion conduction channels can technically guarantee the high-performance state of fuel cell devices in the long term. Anion exchange membranes (AEM) containing a macrocyclic host-guest structure with dynamic self-protection were fabricated in this paper, exhibiting high ionic conductivity and alkali stability. Macrocycles utilize bulk and hydrophilicity to orderly construct ion transport channels while providing steric protection for cations within their cavities. Performance tests showed that the membranes achieved a hydroxide conductivity of 114 mS cm−1 at 80 °C, while the swelling rate was only 15.3%. In addition, the membranes achieved 93% of their pre-test performance regarding hydroxide conductivity even after immersion in 5 M KOH at 80 °C for 1000 h. The highest peak power density of 406 mW cm−2 at 60 °C was achieved after the assembly of a single cell. Therefore, we believe that the new design using a long chain structure containing both host-guest as side chains is a new direction worth exploring to improve the performance of AEMs.