Water structure in radiation-grafted anionic exchange membrane for fuel cell applications, and its role in charge transport

Over the past few decades, fuel cell research has grown exponentially with the continued development of new materials and systems for automotive and stationary applications. Most interest has focused on polymer electrolyte (both proton -PEM- and anion -AEM- exchange membranes) membrane fuel cells because of their power densities, lower cost, and wider applications. Albeit intensive efforts have been made to develop and improve AEMs membranes, they still display poor ionic conductivity. This is also because, to date, very little is known on the relation between OH- transport and water dynamics. In this proposal, we want to investigate the role of water structured around the counterion in ad hoc synthesized AEM membrane to unravel the transport basic mechanisms and with a view to advancing towards help designing advanced higher performance AEMs.