As countries push toward carbon neutrality, green hydrogen is increasingly seen as a key energy carrier for storing and transporting renewable electricity from intermittent sources such as solar and wind. Among the emerging technologies for producing green hydrogen, anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEM-WE) are especially attractive because it can potentially combine the low-cost advantages of alkaline water electrolysis utilizing platinum-group-metal-free catalysts and the high efficiency and compact design of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis.
But one major obstacle has slowed their industrial development: the membrane itself. AEM must conduct hydroxide ions quickly while surviving harsh alkaline conditions for long periods. Many existing membranes degrade too fast, and some of the most promising synthesis routes depend heavily on large amounts of corrosive superacids, creating cost, safety, and environmental concerns that complicate scale-up.
Researchers at Westlake University have now developed a new membrane material designed to address both problems at once. The team created a poly(aryl methylquinuclidinium) membrane (PAMQ), using aldehyde-functionalized quinuclidine monomers. This molecular design makes the membrane easier to manufacture while also improving its chemical durability. Compared with conventional ketone-based routes, the new synthesis cuts the use of trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, a commonly used superacid, by 62.5%. That reduction is important not only because it lowers raw-material use, but also because it reduces the practical risks associated with handling strong acids during polymer production. The simplified process enabled pilot-scale synthesis and roll-to-roll membrane fabrication, both critical steps toward industrial manufacturing.
The membrane also showed high performance under demanding operating conditions. In alkaline stability tests, PAMQ showed negligible degradation after 10,000 h in 1 mol L −1 KOH at 80 ℃. In electrolyzer testing, the membrane delivered high current density in a fully non-platinum-group-metal system, and also operated stably for more than 2500 h at 1.0 A cm − 2 and 80 ℃.
To move beyond laboratory demonstration, the researchers further validated the membrane in a kilowatt-scale water electrolysis stack. The successful operation of the larger device suggests that the material may be suitable not only for fundamental research, but also for practical hydrogen production systems.
According to the researchers, the work establishes aldehyde-mediated superacid-catalyzed polyhydroxyalkylation as a useful platform for designing next-generation AEM. By linking molecular innovation with scalable processing, the study offers a possible route toward more durable and manufacturable membranes, supporting broader deployment of renewable hydrogen in a future zero-carbon economy.
Science Bulletin
Experimental study