Synthesis and characterization of sulfonated polymers containing triazoles as low-humidity proton exchange membranes

Hybrid Membrane of Sulfonated Poly(aryl ether ketone sulfone) Modified by Molybdenum Clusters with Enhanced Proton Conductivity

Developing novel proton exchange membranes (PEMs) with low cost and superior performance to replace Nafion is of great significance. Polyoxometalate-doped sulfonated poly(aryl ether ketone sulfone) (SPAEKS) allows for the amalgamation of the advantages in each constituent, thereby achieving an optimized performance for the hybrid PEMs. Herein, the hybrid membranes by introducing 2MeIm-{Mo132} into SPAEKS are obtained. Excellent hydrophilic properties of 2MeIm-{Mo132} can help more water molecules be retained in the hybrid membrane, providing abundant carriers for proton transport and proton hopping sites to build successive hydrophilic channels, thus lowering the energy barrier, accelerating the proton migration, and significantly fostering the proton conductivity of hybrid membranes. Especially, SP-2MIMo132-5 exhibits an enhanced proton conductivity of 75 mS cm-1 at 80 °C, which is 82.9% higher than pristine SPAEKS membrane. Additionally, this membrane is suitable for application in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, and a maximum power density of 266.2 mW cm-2 can be achieved at 80 °C, which far exceeds that of pristine SPAEKS membrane (54.6 mW cm-2). This work demonstrates that polyoxometalate-based clusters can serve as excellent proton conduction sites, opening up the choice of proton conduction carriers in hybrid membrane design and providing a novel idea to manufacture high-performance PEMs.

Recent advances in 1,2,3- and 1,2,4-triazole hybrids as antimicrobials and their SAR: A critical review

With the widespread use and sometimes even abuse of antibiotics, the problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics has become very serious, and it is posing a great threat to global health. Therefore, development of new antibiotics is imperative. Triazoles are five-membered, nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocyclic scaffolds, with two isomeric forms, i.e. 1,2,3-triazole and 1,2,4-triazole. Triazole-containing compounds have a wide range of biological activities such as antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, antioxidant, antitubercular, antimalarial, anti-HIV, anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer, analgesic, and etc. The bioactivities and the diversity of triazole-containing drugs have attracted wide interest in these heterocycles. Various antibiotic triazole hybrids have been developed, and most of which have shown potent antimicrobial activities. In this review, we summarized the recent advances in triazole hybrids as potential antibacterial agents and their structure-activity relationships (SARs). The information gained through SAR studies will provide further insights into the development of new triazole antimicrobials.

Understanding the Effect of Triazole on Crosslinked PPO–SEBS-Based Anion Exchange Membranes for Water Electrolysis

For anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE), two types of anion exchange membranes (AEMs) containing crosslinked poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) and poly(styrene ethylene butylene styrene) (SEBS) were prepared with and without triazole. The impact of triazole was carefully examined. In this work, the PPO was crosslinked with the non-aryl ether-type SEBS to take advantage of its enhanced chemical stability and phase separation under alkaline conditions. Compared to their triazole-free counterpart, the crosslinked membranes made with triazole had better hydroxide-ion conductivity because of the increased phase separation, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Moreover, they displayed improved mechanical and alkaline stability. Under water electrolysis (WE) conditions, a triazole-containing crosslinked PPO–SEBS membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was created using IrO2 as the anode and a Pt/C catalyst as the cathode. This MEA displayed a current density of 0.7 A/cm2 at 1.8 V, which was higher than that of the MEA created with the triazole-free counterpart. Our study indicated that the crosslinked PPO–SEBS membrane containing triazoles had improved chemo-physical and electrical capabilities for WE because of the strong hydrogen bonding between triazole and water/OH−.