@article{26190,
  keywords = {conductivity, nafion, Domain spacing, HBr, SAXS, Uptake},
  author = {Ahmet Kusoglu and Kyu-Taek Cho and Rafael A Prato and Adam Z Weber},
  title = {Structural and transport properties of Nafion in hydrobromic-acid solutions},
  abstract = {<p>Proton-exchange membranes are key solid-state ion carriers in many relevant energy technologies including flow batteries, fuel cells, and solar-fuel generators. In many of these systems, the membranes are in contact with electrolyte solutions. In this paper, we focus on the impact of different HBr, a flow-battery and exemplary acid electrolyte, external concentrations on the conductivity of Nafion, a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane that is commonly used in many energy-related applications. The peak and then decrease in conductivity is correlated with measured changes in the water and HBr content within the membrane. In addition, small-angle x-ray scattering is used to probe the nanostructure to correlate how the interactions of the bromide ion with the fixed sulfonic-acid sites impact conductivity and hydrophilic domain distance. It is also shown that membrane pretreatment has a large impact on the underlying structure/function relationship. The obtained data and results are useful for delineation of optimal operating regimes for flow batteries and similar technologies as well as in understanding underlying structure/function relationships of ionomers in electrolyte solutions.</p>},
  year = {2013},
  journal = {Solid State Ionics},
  month = {06/2013},
  issn = {01672738},
  doi = {10.1016/j.ssi.2013.05.008},
}