Novel crosslinked anion exchange membranes based on poly(phthalazinone ether ketone) (PPEK) were successfully prepared through chloromethylation, quaternization, membrane casting and OH- ionic exchange reaction from the quaternized PPEK (QPPEK) membrane. The quaternization was performed with N-methylimidazolium (MIm) as ammonium agent and tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) as crosslinking agent. The ion-exchange capacity, swelling ratio (SR), water uptake (WU), and ionic conductivity of the QPPEK alkaline membranes have been systematically investigated. The results showed that QPPEK membranes have a high hydroxide conductivity and very low SR. For the QPPEK-4 alkaline membrane with ion-exchange capacity (IEC) 2.63 mmol/g, the WU was 35.8%, and the hydroxide conductivity was 0.028 S/cm at 30 degrees C and 0.032 S/cm at 70 degrees C, while its SR was only 7.6%. The thermal properties of the QPPEK alkaline membrane and CMPPEK were characterized using thermo-gravimetric analysis measurements in a nitrogen atmosphere. The alkaline resistance of membrane QPPEK -4 was also briefly investigated in 6 M KOH at 60 degrees C. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2013, 51, 1632-1638