Aligned Nanostructure of Nafion Membrane by Micromolding in Microcapillaries
발표자
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초록
내용
Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells(PEMFCs) are eco-friendly and Nafion, a representative material to PEM, have long-side chains with hydrophilic sulfonic acid groups. The sulfonic acid groups form the ion clusters for transporting protons. However the ion clusters are placed randomly, it tend to reduce the capability of ion conductivity. In this study, we researched alignment of Nafion’s nanostructures to improve the ion conductivity with microcapillaries. The Poly(dimethylsiloxane)(PDMS) molds which was patterned 5, 10 and 20um lines were prepared and The patterned Nafion membrane was prepared by various methods with the PDMS molds. The line pattern was confirmed by AFM, SEM and OM. Through the AFM images, The phase separation and partial alignment of Nafion was observed. Finally, the proton conductivity of the patterned Nafion membrane was improved by alignment of ion clusters.