ODNP of Fuel Cell Membranes

聚电解质膜燃料电池可以在低温下运行，适合于它们在消费电子产品和车辆中的使用。由氢和氧燃料电池提供燃料会产生水，水严重影响将阳极与阴极分离并可渗透阳离子的膜的功能。为了设计高效的燃料电池，必须非常详细地了解不同水合水平的膜功能。但是，水和离子在燃料电池膜中的传输是不均匀的，并取决于膜的形貌，而膜的形貌随其水合状态而变化。磁共振方法，如扩散和弛豫的拉普拉斯NMR以及Overhauser动态核极化（ODNP），在其解开运输机制的复杂异质性并将其分配到膜内的不同形态学位点的能力方面是独特的。该项目结合了两种磁共振方法在膜功能的研究，以解决膜水运输的磁共振工具箱的帮助下相互矛盾的观点。一种新的设置在操作膜功能的调查将澄清和指定的水分依赖性膜结构和水的运输。

Polyelectrolyte membrane fuel cells can be operated at low temperature suitable for their use in consumer electronics and vehicles. Fueled by hydrogen and oxygen fuel cells produce water, which critically affects the function of the membrane that separates the anode from the cathode and is permeable to cations. To design efficient fuel cells, the membrane function must be understood in great detail for different hydration levels. But the water and ion transport though the fuel cell membrane is heterogeneous and determined by the membrane morphology, which changes with its hydration state. Magnetic resonance methods like Laplace NMR of diffusion and relaxation as well as Overhauser Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (ODNP) are unique in their capabilities of unraveling the complex heterogeneity of transport regimes and assigning them to the different morphological sites inside the membrane. This project combines both magnetic resonance methods in a study of membrane function to resolve conflicting views on membrane water transport with the help of a magnetic resonance toolbox. A novel set-up for in operando investigations of membrane function will clarify and specify the moisture-dependent membrane structure and water transport.