Property and structure of ultra-thin Nafion films for applications to fuel cells and other technologies

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The proposed research program will study the structure and property of ultra-thin (less than one-thousands the thickness of human hair) films of Nafion, a polymer electrolyte material. The research builds my group's recent findings that these ultra-thin films have unique properties that are "distinct" from the well-studied, much thicker membrane form. The fundamental knowledge generated in the proposed research program will open the Nafion class of material to applications beyond the original motivation in fuel cell (FC) electrode design to sensors, actuators, photoelectrochemical and optical devices - by tailoring the nano-structure of these thin films to attain application-specific properties. The proposed research will benefit Canada on several levels - socio-economic and environmental. Four PhDs and ten undergraduates researchers with advanced analytical skills, well-rounded professional skills, and critical-thinking abilities will be trained. Since the highly qualified personnel (HQPs) will be trained in wide range of scientific/engineering topics including material science, polymers, and colloidal physics, they will fit in directly in different advanced technology sectors including fuel cells, sensors, photochemistry, and optics. The fundamental nature of the proposed research with broad range of technological applications has the potential for creating spin-off companies. A direct beneficiary of the research will be the fuel cell industry in Canada (Ballard Power and Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation in Burnaby and Hydrogenics Corporation in Mississauga) since knowledge generated will be applied to design lower cost but high performance fuel cell systems. This will promote larger-scale adoption will be accelerated resulting in economic growth and, more importantly, cleaner environment in the urban area. Fueled by tremendous growth in fork lift application and automotive companies plan to begin commercialization of FC vehicles in 2015, the Canadian FC industry has projected a demand of over 100 HPQs and a market of over several hundred million dollars in next 5 years.