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Full-Text Articles in Polymer and Organic Materials
Structure And Morphology Of Sulfonated Polysulfone And Perfluorosulfonic Acid Ionomers, Chen Wang
Structure And Morphology Of Sulfonated Polysulfone And Perfluorosulfonic Acid Ionomers, Chen Wang
Doctoral Dissertations
The limitations of conventional perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) based membrane materials have provoked the search for alternative materials which can function as the electrolyte in PEM fuel cells operated at higher temperatures (> 100 °C) and without humidification. A novel class of sulfonated poly(phenylene) sulfone (sPSO2) ionomers have shown much higher proton conductivity than typical PFSA membranes at elevated temperatures. In this dissertation, both computational and experimental methods were used to investigate proton transfer, morphological and structural properties of sPSO2 and PFSA ionomers. We have undertaken ab initio electronic structure calculations to understand the primary hydration and the transfer of protons …