We report 1H-1,2,3-triazole as an active group to dramatically enhance proton conduction in a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM). The conductivities of a poly(4-vinyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole) membrane without any acidic dopants are about 105 times greater than those of poly(4-vinylimidazole) in dry air at 50-150 degrees C. Polymers with groups promoting proton conduction attached to the backbone have great potential to offer excellent mechanical properties and long-term stability. Further, 1H-1,2,3-triazole and PEMs containing 1H-1,2,3-triazole are stable in a wide potential range, implying excellent electrochemical stability under fuel cell operating conditions.
After hydrothermally treated in H2O (for Mg alloy and Al alloy) or H2O2 (for Ti alloy), microstructured oxide or hydroxide layers were formed on light alloy substrates, which further served as the active layers to boost the self-assembling of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (PFOTES) and finally endowed the substrates with unique wettability, that is, superhydrophobicity. For convenience, the so-fabricated superhyrdophobic surfaces (SHS) were abridged as HT-SHS. For comparison, SHS coded as CE-SHS were also prepared based on chemical etching in acid and succedent surface passivation with PFOTES. To reveal the corrosion protection of these SHS, potentiodynamic polarization measurements in NaCl solution (3.5 wt %) were performed. Moreover, to reflect the long-term stability of these SHS, SHS samples were immersed into NaCl solution and the surface wettability was monitored. Experimental results indicated that HT-SHS was much more stable and effective in corrosion protection as compared with CE-SHS. The enhancement was most likely due to the hydrothermally generated oxide layer by the following tow aspects: on one hand, oxide layer itself can lower the corrosion due to its barrier effect; on the other hand, stronger interfacial bonding is expected between oxide layer and PFOTES molecules.
Supramolecular gels exhibit potential applications in the areas of sensors, nanodevices, drug and catalyst carriers, and so on. To develop a novel organogel with a multiresponse, we designed a component molecule bearing a pyridyl group for metal coordination and an amide group for the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonding. A complex building block with a symmetrical structure was selectively constructed by the coordination of a silver cation to the organic component. The coordination existing in the complex and the hydrogen bonding existing between complexes were examined by IR, Raman, and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The gel formation and phase transition were examined by viscosity and differential scanning calorimetry measurements. The selection of metal ions for the formation of a gel has proved to be crucial as only the complex of a binary coordinated metal ion, Ag+, was found to form a gel structure. From the band shift of the L1 solution with different amounts of silver ion, the binding ratio of silver ion to L1 was estimated to be 1:2 and the calculated stability constant was 3.6 x 10(8) M(-2). On the basis of the analysis of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results, we proposed a possible stacking structure of the complex in the fibrous aggregates. Of interest is that the organogel exhibits a 3-D network structure of a beltlike fiber composed of ordered lamellar arrangements of the coordinated complex and shows a rapid response to wide chemical stimulations such as anions I-, Br-, and Cl-, gases such as H(2)S and NH(3), and a change of pH.
A series of biphenyl-containing ammonium amphiphiles with two alkyl chains, N,N-di[10-[4-(4′-alkyloxybiphenyl)oxy]decyl]-N,N-dimethylammonium bromide (C
n
BphC10N, n = 6, 8, 10, 12), were designed and synthesized to cap the polyoxometalates (PMs), forming corresponding amphiphile-encapsulated complexes (PM-m/C
n
BphC10N). To understand the effect of organic and inorganic components on the mesomorphic behavior of hybrid materials, we examined the thermal properties of these complexes and their organic components as the comparison using differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The mesophase type of PM-1/C
n
BphC10N is independent of the variety of tail length of amphiphiles. However, different smectic phases, such as smectic A, smectic C, smectic B, and crystalline smectic phases, can be obtained by appropriate selection of the polyoxometalates (PM-2, PM-3, and PM-4) with different shape and surface charge density. The present results provide a direct correlation between liquid crystalline properties of the hybrid complex and the feature of inorganic PMs.
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