This paper presents our research on silicon-based proton exchange membranes for siliconbased micro fuel cell applications. The porous silicon membranes with a thickness of 20-40 m were fabricated. And the porous silicon-based proton exchange membranes were formed by using the combination of the porous silicon membranes and Nafion solution. The proton conductivities of the porous silicon-based P...

Functionalized graphene oxide (FGO) reinforced quaternized poly(ether ether ketone) membranes were prepared for high temperature proton exchange membrane applications. The introduction of FGO significantly improved the mechanical strength and oxidative stability of these membranes at a high doping level. These reinforced membranes showed high tensile strength up to 40 MPa and high proton conduc...

heterogeneous proton exchange membranes (pem) are synthesized using the dry phase inversion technique. the casting solutions are prepared by dispersing a finely ground cation exchange resin particle in n,n-dimethylacetamide (dmac) solution of polyvinyl-chloride (pvc). results show that ion exchange capacity is increased with the addition of 1 %-wt nanosilica (from 0.14 to 0.27 meq/g) while it i...

Proton transfer in the nanoscopic water channels of polyelectrolyte fuel cell membranes was studied using a photoacid, 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid sodium salt (HPTS), in the channels. The local environment of the probe was determined using 8-methoxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid sodium salt (MPTS), which is not a photoacid. Three fully hydrated membranes, Nafion (DuPont) and two 3M me...

Heterogeneous proton exchange membranes (PEM) are synthesized using the dry phase inversion technique. The casting solutions are prepared by dispersing a finely ground cation exchange resin particle in N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) solution of polyvinyl-chloride (PVC). Results show that ion exchange capacity is increased with the addition of 1 %-wt nanosilica (from 0.14 to 0.27 meq/g) while it i...

The microstructure and connectivity of the ionic and electronic conductive phases in composite ceramic membranes are directly related to device performance. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) including chemical mapping combined with X-ray nanotomography (XNT) have been used to characterize the composition and 3-D microstructure of a MIEC composite model system consisting of a Ce0.8Gd0.2O2 (...

In this communication we elucidate a microstructural picture of proton conduction in nano-crystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia at low temperatures (Kim et al. Adv. Mater., 2008, 20, 556). Based on careful analysis of electrical impedance spectra obtained from samples with grain sizes of approximately 13 and approximately 100 nm under both wet and dry atmospheres over a wide range of temperatu...

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 ...

Bioenergetic membranes use proton gradients to transduce energy. However, when the proton gradient is large 1) there is a passive leak of protons (and other ions) across these membranes, and 2) some proton pumps may fail to pump protons (a phenomenon known as slip). Leaks and slips may be an unavoidable consequence of membrane structure and cause significant wastage of free energy, but they may...