@article {50016,
	title = {High-performance sultone-modified PVA/PAMPS semi-IPN hydrogels for proton exchange membranes},
	journal = {Journal of Applied Polymer Science},
	volume = {143},
	year = {2026},
	month = {APR},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>Hydrogel membranes composed of poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) and sultone-modified poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were successfully synthesized and evaluated as promising proton-conducting materials. A key advantage involves the premodification of PVA with 1,3-propane sultone to introduce sulfonic acid groups, thereby imparting proton conductivity to the PVA backbone. This sultone-modified PVA was then physically entangled within a PAMPS cross-linked network to form novel semi-interpenetrating network (semi-IPN) hydrogels. This synergistic design leverages the excellent film-forming and mechanical properties of PVA with the high proton conductivity inherent to PAMPS. The synthesized membranes exhibited robust mechanical properties, with tensile strengths ranging from 5 to 30 MPa and percentage elongations between 200\% and 400\%, depending on their humidity content. These hydrogel membranes demonstrated proton conductivities ranging from 0.6 to 4.3 x 10-2 S cm-1. The activation energy for proton conduction was found to be as low as 3.5 kJ mol-1, significantly lower than that of the commercial benchmark membrane, Nafion 117 (12 kJ mol-1). These findings underscore the potential of these novel PAMPS/sultone-modified PVA semi-IPN hydrogel membranes for advanced fuel cell applications.</p>
},
	keywords = {batteries and fuel cells, functionalization of polymers, Gels, membranes, polyelectrolytes},
	issn = {0021-8995},
	doi = {10.1002/app.70462},
	author = {Patwadkar, Manjusha V. and Illathvalappil, Rajith and Torris, Arun and Francis, Sifa C. and Kurungot, Sreekumar and Badiger, Manohar V.}
}
