A team of researchers has achieved a breakthrough in the development of anion exchange membranes (AEMs). They designed a novel spiro-branched polymeric membrane that incorporates highly connected sub-nanometer microporous ion channels, showing exceptional performance in flow battery applications. The team included researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), led by Prof. Xu Tongwen and Ge Xiaolin.