Investigating the physiochemical properties and proton conduction mechanism of a new proton exchange membrane, based on novel heteropoly acid functionalised mesoporous silica nanocomposites
In this PhD project, a fundamental understanding of the relationship between the structure and properties of a new type of proton exchange membrane, based on phosphotungstic acid impregnated mesoporous silica nanocomposites has been developed. The effect of changes to the physical structure of various mesoporous symmetries and HPA concentrations and changes to the chemical environment on the proton conduction mechanism and the efficiency of resulting fuel cells have been constructed using a variety of techniques. The techniques of N2 adsorption/desorption, small angle X-ray scattering, near edge X-ray absorbance fine structure, ex-situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and quasi-elastic neutron scattering were focused on elucidating the exact mechanism of proton conduction in these materials.
Description
Submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast, 2016.
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