Ionomer thin films for fuel cells and related applications

尺寸小于人类头发大小千分之一的聚合物薄膜与它们的块状材料薄膜表现不同。导电聚合物是这种材料的一个子类，根据分子结构的不同，它们可以是电子导电的，也可以是离子导电的。离子导电聚合物或离子单体的薄膜有各种各样的应用，例如在燃料电池、人工光合作用、传感器、致动器和功能涂层中。聚合物电解质燃料电池（PEFCs）催化剂层中的离聚体薄膜由于意外的高质量传输电阻而被确定为显著性能/电压损失的来源。如果我们要利用pefc作为城市车辆零排放电源的潜力，克服这一问题现在被认为是让人们负担得起的关键。解决这个问题的答案是设计下一代离子材料，使其具有易于传递质量的特性。然而，离子单体分子结构与其性能之间缺乏联系，阻碍了这种材料的设计和开发。在拟议的研究中，将使用一种基于科学的方法来揭示质量传输阻力的起源，一些先进的实验技术——其中一种最近才在整个北美可用——加拿大麦克马斯特大学的正电子束设施。

Polymer thin films with dimensions less than one-thousands the size of human hair behave differently than their bulk material counterpart. Conducting polymers are sub-class of this material group and depending on the molecular architecture, they can be either electron-conducting or ion-conducting. Thin films of ion-conducting polymers or ionomers find a variety of applications, e.g. in fuel cells, artificial photosynthesis, sensors, actuators, and as functional coatings. The ionomer thin films in the catalyst layers of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) have been identified as a source of significant performance/voltage loss due to unexpectedly high mass transport resistance. Overcoming this problem is now considered critical to making the PEFCs affordable, if we are to harness its potential as zero-emissions power source for urban vehicles. The answer to the problem is designing next generation ionomer materials that possess facile mass transport characteristics. However, the lack of relationship between ionomer molecular structure and its properties is hampering the design and development of such materials. In the proposed research will use a science-based approach for unraveling the origin of the mass transport resistance some advanced experimental techniques - one of which has only recently become available in whole of North America - the Positron Beam Facility at McMaster University, Canada.