Proton transport properties of a partially protonated poly(aspartic acid)/sodium polyaspartate (PAsp) were investigated. A remarkable enhancement of proton conductivity has been achieved by a highly oriented structure in the thin film. Proton conductivity of 60-nm-thick thin film prepared on MgO(100) substrate was 3.4  10 S cm at 298K. The electrical conductivity of the oriented thin film was ...

Transparent free-standing mesoporous silica (MS) films were synthesized from a system of TMOS-Brij-Acid-H2O. The non-ionic surfactants used included Brij 22 (C12EO10OH), Brij 56 (C16EO10OH), and Brij 76 (C18EO10OH). The acids used include HCl, H3PO4, and CF3SO3H. The effect of synthesis parameters on the synthesis and the proton conductivity of mesoporous silica were investigated. The Brij 56/C...

The management of proton conductivity in the protic ionic liquid imidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Im][TFSI]) is investigated via the use of quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) and pulsed-field gradient NMR. The introduction of excess neutral imidazole to [Im][TFSI] leads to enhanced conductivity. We find that proton dynamics in [Im][TFSI] with excess imidazole are characteriz...

In this communication, we introduce squaric acid derivatives as anhydrous proton conductors. We report the synthesis, characterization and proton conductivities of four squaric acid derivatives. The anhydrous proton conductivity of one of the derivatives was 2.3 × 10(-3) S cm(-1) at 110 °C, comparable to the conductivity of molten 1H-1,2,3-triazole or 1H-imidazole.

Reducing the operating temperature in the 500-750 °C range is needed for widespread use of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Proton-conducting oxides are gaining wide interest as electrolyte materials for this aim. We report the fabrication of BaZr(0.8)Y(0.2)O(3-δ) (BZY) proton-conducting electrolyte thin films by pulsed laser deposition on different single-crystalline substrates. Highly textured...

In 1678, Stefano Lorenzini first described a network of organs of unknown function in the torpedo ray-the ampullae of Lorenzini (AoL). An individual ampulla consists of a pore on the skin that is open to the environment, a canal containing a jelly and leading to an alveolus with a series of electrosensing cells. The role of the AoL remained a mystery for almost 300 years until research demonstr...

The advancement of diverse electrochemistry technologies depends on the development of novel proton conducting polymers. Inspired by the efficacy of proton transport through proteins, we show in this work that self-assembling peptide nanostructures may be a promising alternative for such organic proton conducting materials. We demonstrate that aromatic amino acids, which participate in charge t...

Nowadays, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are the most promising green energy conversion devices for portable and stationary applications. Traditionally, these devices were based onperfluoro-sulfonic acid electrolytes membranes, given the commercial name Nafion. Nafion is the mostused electrolyte membrane till now; because of its high electrochemical properties su...

We have developed for fuel cells a novel proton exchange membrane (PEM) using inorganic phosphotungstic acid (HPW) as proton carrier and mesoporous silica as matrix (HPW-meso-silica) . The proton conductivity measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is 0.11 S cm(-1) at 90 °C and 100% relative humidity (RH) with a low activation energy of ∼14 kJ mol(-1). In order to determine the energ...