In this work, a spatially resolved analytical method based on scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) to distinguish different degradation phenomena in polymer electrolyte membranes was developed. SECM was combined with a Franz diffusion cell to distinguish between radical-induced aging of a sulfonated tetrafluoroethylene based fluoropolymer-copolymer due to deactivation of the sulfonic acid groups followed by a decreased proton conductivity, and the radical-induced formation of cracks and holes in the polymer. The experiments were performed with ferrocyanide as redox mediator to detect holes and cracks, and protons (sulfuric acid) to determine the through-plane proton conductivity, respectively. A pristine Nafion™ membrane, a pristine Nafion™ membrane with an artificial pinhole and a Nafion™ membrane aged with Fenton's reagent were investigated to prove the measurement principle. It could be shown that holes and cracks can be reliably detected with this approach and discriminated from a change in proton conductivity. The presence of holes in the investigated aged membranes was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, whereas the loss of sulfonate groups could be supported by infrared spectroscopy measurements.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d4ra02203c | DOI Listing |
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngew Chem Int Ed Engl
January 2025
University of Regensburg, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Universitätsstraße 31, D-93053, Regensburg, GERMANY.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Chem Soc
January 2025
Molecular Biomimetics, Department of Chemistry, Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, P.O. Box 523, Uppsala SE-75120, Sweden.
[FeFe] hydrogenases make up a structurally diverse family of metalloenzymes that catalyze proton/dihydrogen interconversion. They can be classified into phylogenetically distinct groups denoted A-G, which differ in structure and reactivity. Prototypical Group A hydrogenases have high turnover rates and remarkable energy efficiency.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhysiol Plant
January 2025
College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Proton exchange is a fundamental chemical event, and NMR provides the most direct readout of protonation events with site-specific resolution. Conventional approaches require manual titration of sample pH to collect a series of NMR spectra at different pH values. This requires extensive sample handling and often results in significant sample loss, leading to reduced signal or the need to prepare additional samples.
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