Abstract
The objective of that thesis deals with the synthesis of an electrode binder, based on fluoropolymers to increase the surface of contact between the electrodes and the membrane. Hence, various strategies of synthesis of fluorinated copolymers based on different architectures were acheived. Several linear copolymers were prepared by chemical modification of commercially available polymers bearing quaternary ammonium (e.g., poly(diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride) or PDADMAC), but also by chemical modification of synthesized poly(chlorotrifluoroethylene-alt-2-chloroethylvinylether) copolymers. Furthermore, grafted poly[(chlorotrifluoroethylene-alt-vinylether )-g-styrene] and poly(chloromethylstyrene-b-1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl-ethyleneoxymethyl styrene) block copolymers have also been obtained by controlled radical polymerization (ATRP or ITP, respectively) and were subsequently quaternized. These original copolymers were characterized by various thermal or electrochemical techniques to assess their thermal stability and glass transition temperatures and also other key-properties such as the swelling rate, the ionic exchange capacity, and the conductivity.