Hoechst Aktiengesellschaft

Ralf Thorwirth

Frank Osan

Helmut Ritter

Arnold Schneller

Freddy Helmer-Metzmann

Roland Nolte

Konstantin Ledjeff

In order to produce a polymer electrolyte membrane from sulfonated, aromatic polyether ketone, an aromatic polyether ketone of the formula (I)

Polymer electrolyte membrane and process for the production thereof

In order to produce a polymer electrolyte membrane from sulfonated, aromatic polyether ketone, an aromatic polyether ketone of the formula (I) ##STR1## in which Ar is a phenylene ring having p- and/or m-bonds,

Polymer electrolyte membrane for use in fuel cells and electrolysis cells

In order to produce a polymer electrolyte membrane from sulfonated, aromatic polyether ketone, an aromatic polyether ketone of the formula (I) ##STR1## in which Ar is a phenylene ring having p- and/or m-bonds, Ar' is a phenylene, naphthylene, biphenylene, anthrylene or another divalent aromatic unit, X, N and M, independently of one another are 0 or 1, Y is 0, 1, 2 or 3, P is 1, 2, 3 or 4, is sulfonated and the sulfonic acid is isolated. At least 5% of the sulfonic groups in the sulfonic acid are converted into sulfonyl chloride groups, and these are reacted with an amine containing at least one crosslinkable substituent or a further functional group, and unreacted sulfonyl chloride groups are subsequently hydrolyzed. The resultant aromatic sulfonamide is isolated and dissolved in an organic solvent, the solution is converted into a film, and the crosslinkable substituents in the film are then crosslinked. In specific cases, the crosslinkable substituents can be omitted. In this case, sulfonated polyether ketone is converted into a film from solution.

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Ralf Thorwirth