Ultrasonic manipulation of solution-state ionomer aggregates for optimized doping efficiency in sulfonated polyphenylsulfone hybrid PEMs.

Herein, ultrasound pretreatment was used to regulate solution-state SPPSU aggregates, making the -SO3H groups more exposed and accessible, thereby boosting the CQD doping efficiency. The resulting SPPSU-US/30-CQD/x% PEMs exhibited improved ionic cluster morphology and microphase-separated structure compared to their conventionally doped counterparts, leading to superior overall performance for water electrolysis.