Formation and evaluation of electrochemically-active ultra-thin palladium–Nafion nanocomposite films

Modification of the Physical Properties of a Nafion Film Due to Inclusion of n-Dodecyltriethylammonium Cation: Time Effect

This study investigates the effects of modifying commercial Nafion-212 thin films with dodecyltriethylammonium cation (DTA+) on their electrical resistance, elastic modulus, light transmission/reflection and photoluminescence properties. The films were modified through a proton/cation exchange process for immersion periods ranging from 1 to 40 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to analyze the crystal structure and surface composition of the modified films. The electrical resistance and the different resistive contributions were determined via impedance spectroscopy. Changes in the elastic modulus were evaluated using stress-strain curves. Additionally, optical characterization tests, including light/reflection (250-2000 nm) and photoluminescence spectra, were also performed on both unmodified and DTA⁺-modified Nafion films. The results reveal significant changes in the electrical, mechanical and optical properties of the films, depending on the exchange process time. In particular, the inclusion of the DTA⁺ into the Nafion structure improved the elastic behavior of the films by significantly decreasing the Young modulus. Furthermore, the photoluminescence of the Nafion films was also enhanced. These findings can be used to optimize the exchange process time to achieve specific desired properties.

Interesting Facets of Surface, Interfacial, and Bulk Characteristics of Perfluorinated Ionomer Films

Ion-containing perfluorinated polymers possess unique viscoelastic properties, excellent proton conductivity, and nanophase-segregated structure all arising from the clustering of hydrophilic sulfonic acid groups within a matrix of hydrophobic fluorocarbons. When these ionomers are confined to nanothin films, a broad swathe of structural organization imparting a rich variety of surface, interfacial, and bulk characteristics can be expected. However, our understanding of perfluorinated ionomer thin film behavior is still in a rudimentary stage, and much of the research focus to date has been on its hydration-related structure and properties pertinent to electrochemical applications. Thus, many hidden gems-their interesting surface and interfacial properties-have been overlooked. In this Invited Feature Article, which is a summary of the key contributions by the author's group, including several collaborative publications on ionomer thin films, we unravel many of these facets. In addition, the article attempts to integrate knowledge acquired from a variety of investigations of different aspects of the ionomer thin films to refine and develop a consistent picture of their structure and behavior. First, we focus on the self-assembly of ionomers and show that dispersion media and hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of the substrate can result in partial or even no coverage of substrates, shedding light on the complexity of polymer-substrate, polymer-solvent, and polymer-polymer interactions, an insight completely obscured when the spin-coating method is adopted for film creation. We demonstrate that the same ionomer can be used to create a variety of surfaces ranging from superhydrophilic to highly hydrophobic by controlling the film thickness or through the choice of substrate material. The ultrathin, hydrophilic surfaces of self-assembled Nafion ionomer films exhibit wettability switching behavior which opens the door to creating stimuli-responsive smart surfaces. The thermoresponsive behavior of the films is discussed in the context of surface (wettability) and bulk (thermal expansion) characteristics as well as a newly discovered vibrational mode. The substrate- and film thickness-dependent thermal expansion coefficients reinforce the importance of interfacial interactions and confinement on the structure/properties of these films. They also open up the potential of tuning ionomer bulk properties via substrate chemistry. The discovery of a vibrational mode that becomes thermally activated at high temperature has provided new insights into the origins of the molecular motions responsible for the α-relaxation of the Nafion ionomer as well as the underlying reason for wettability switching. Our recent neutron reflectometry study of different ionomers varying in side-chain composition/length on a platinum substrate shows that the interfacial hydration level is correlated to the side-chain length, which opens up the possibility of the controlling the interfacial electrochemistry. Finally, a systematic analysis of factors affecting proton conduction is presented to elucidate the yet-unresolved origins of the suppressed conduction of nanothin ionomer films compared to that of the bulk membrane. By revealing these interesting yet poorly understood facets of ionomer thin films, the article aims to stimulate further scientific pursuit on this topic.

Chemical and electrochemical characterization of Nafion containing silver nanoparticles in a stripe-like distribution

Study of the effect of Ag-NPs stripes in Nafion: evaluation of chemical, electrochemical and mechanical properties.

Uncommon patterns in Nafion films loaded with silver nanoparticles

The synthesis of Ag-NPs inside Nafion produced unexpected patterns that can reveal the real morphology of the polymer.

One-step formation of ultra-thin chemically functionalized redox-active Langmuir-Schaefer Nafion films

A novel "one-step procedure" to incorporate different cationic redox-active species within ultra-thin Nafion films is reported. Ultra-thin films of Nafion containing trimethylammonioferrocene (FA), tris(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(), Ru(bpy), and hexaaminoruthenium(), [Ru(NH)], were prepared using the Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) technique. The morphology and thickness of the films were evaluated with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Film thicknesses were 1.9 ± 0.7, 1.8 ± 0.9, 1.5 ± 0.9 nm per layer for Nafion-FA, Nafion-Ru(bpy)and Nafion-[Ru(NH)], respectively. Electrochemical data confirmed the successful incorporation of the mediators into the films and proved that the redox activity was maintained during extensive voltammetric cycling. Key parameters such as surface coverage, concentration of the mediator within the films and apparent diffusion coefficients were extracted using cyclic voltammetry. To demonstrate the utility of the redox-active films for sensing applications, films with Ru(bpy) incorporated were utilized for the electrocatalysis of oxalate in aqueous solution.