Design of functional gyroid minimal surfaces transporting proton based solely on surface hopping conduction mechanism

DOI: 10.1002/marc.202400619

Authors: Nanami Aoki (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology) , Yumin Tang (University of Sheffield) , Xiangbing Zeng (University of Sheffield) , Takahiro Ichikawa (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Macromolecular Rapid Communications , VOL 11

State: Published (Approved)
Published: November 2024

Abstract: Surface proton hopping conduction (SPHC) mechanisms is an important proton conduction mechanism in conventional polymer electrolytes, along with the Grotthuss and vehicle mechanisms. Due to the small diffusion coefficient of protons in the SPHC mechanism, few studies have focused on the SPHC mechanism. Recently, it has been found that a dense alignment of SO3− groups significantly lowers the activation energy in the SPHC mechanism, enabling fast proton conduction. In this study, a series of polymerizable amphiphilic-zwitterions is prepared, forming bicontinuous cubic liquid-crystalline assemblies with gyroid symmetry in the presence of suitable amounts of bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide (HTf2N) and water. In situ polymerization of these compounds yields gyroid-nanostructured polymer films, as confirmed by synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering experiments. The high proton conductivity of the films on the order of 10−2 S cm−1 at 40 °C and relative humidity of 90% is based solely on the SPHC mechanism.

Subject Areas: Materials, Chemistry


Instruments: I16-Materials and Magnetism

Added On: 04/11/2024 09:22

Discipline Tags:

Surfaces Physical Chemistry Chemistry Materials Science Polymer Science

Technical Tags:

Scattering Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)