INS studies with MAPS of Nafion and model compounds

In the archetypal hydrogen–oxygen proton exchange membrane fuel cell design, a proton-conducting polymer membrane (typically Nafion) contains the electrolyte solution that separates the anode and cathode sides. How water is distributed in the Nafion membrane is a continuing subject of investigation by a range of computational, spectroscopic and imaging techniques. In a previous proposal, TOSCA was used to characterise how the water is present in the polymer as a function of concentration. In this proposal, I wish to use MAPS to observe the O-H stretch and bend modes in the same Nafion samples and to measure a series of model compounds that contain a hydrated proton as H3O+, H5O2+ and hydrated clusters of these .