Stoney's British Pub
3007 Concord Pike
Wilmington, DE
7:30pm

University of Pennsylvania
“Measuring Water We Can’t See: experimental & simulated X-ray scattering on a precise polymer electrolyte”
Practical devices, like batteries and fuel cells, use ionic polymer membranes that are typically fluorinated, a canonical example of which is Nafion. These membranes uptake water and have nanoscopic water channels which are key to their ionic conductivity. Fluorinated polymers currently set the benchmark for device performance; however, perfluorinated chemicals have attracted particular attention as a persistent environmental hazard. Our research investigates precise, fluorine-free polymer electrolytes that demonstrate similar nanoscopic water domains. The work I present here will demonstrate how we experimentally verify and quantify these water channels, and how computational methods enhance our understanding of materials with nanoscopic features.