Interfacial Distribution of Nafion Ionomer Thin Films on Nitrogen-Modified Carbon Surfaces.

Chemically modified carbon supports for the cathode catalyst layers of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) show considerable promise for boosting the oxygen reduction reaction. This study evaluated the ionomer distribution of Nafion ionomer thin films on nitrogen (N)-modified carbon surfaces along their depth direction. Neutron reflectivity (NR) measurements performed using the double-contrast technique with HO and DO revealed that the introduction of N functional groups to carbon thin films promoted ionomer adsorption onto the surface under wet conditions (22 °C, 85% relative humidity).

Wettability of Primer-Treated AlO Surfaces by Bisphenol A Diglycidyl Ether: Determination of the Mechanism from Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Experiments.

This study aims to develop a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation procedure to investigate the wettability of primer-treated AlO surfaces by bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) and to understand the interaction between the surface and the liquid. The MD simulation results were compared with those obtained by contact angle measurements, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) and were found to be in agreement with the experimental evaluations. The results obtained from both the MD simulations and the experiments suggest that the configuration of the primers on the surface affect its wettability.