Humidity- and Temperature-Controlled Chamber for Conductivity and Water Uptake Measurements of Nanometers Thin Ionomer Films

所要求的设备是一个湿度和温度控制室。该设备将是研究超薄离子聚合物（离聚体）的核心，在非常小的尺度上——即，离聚体薄膜的厚度小于人类头发的千分之一，直径为100微米。我们对这类材料（即离聚体）在这些长度尺度上的性质知之甚少。但其性质的量化对于许多电化学装置的设计和开发至关重要，这些离聚体存在于这些装置的电极中。这些超薄离聚体薄膜在这些电化学器件中最重要的功能特性之一是提供离子（质子）传输。质子的传递是由水介导的。这些离聚物的质子电导率是温度和相对湿度的函数。这是因为这些薄膜中的含水量是温度和相对湿度的函数。

The requested equipment is a humidity- and temperature-controlled chamber. The equipment will be central for the study of ultra-thin ionic polymers (ionomers) at very small scales - i.e., ionomer film thicknesses of less than one-thousandth times that of a human hair, which is 100 microns in diameter. Very little is known or understood about the properties of this class of material (i.e. ionomers) at these length scales. But quantification of its properties are crucial for design and development of many electrochemical devices where these ionomers exist at such thicknesses in the electrodes of these devices. One of the most important functional properties of these ultra-thin ionomer films in these electrochemical devices is to provide ion (proton transport). The proton transport is mediated by water. The protonic conductivity of these ionomers is a function of temperature and relative humidity. This is because the water content in these films is a function of temperature and relative humidity.