Using Indentation to Quantify Transport Properties of Nanophase-Segregated Polymer Thin Films

Nichole K Nadermann; Eric M Davis; Kirt A Page; Christopher M Stafford; Edwin P Chan

doi:10.1002/adma.201501880

Using Indentation to Quantify Transport Properties of Nanophase-Segregated Polymer Thin Films

Adv Mater. 2015 Sep 2;27(33):4924-30. doi: 10.1002/adma.201501880. Epub 2015 Jul 14.

Authors

Nichole K Nadermann¹, Eric M Davis¹, Kirt A Page¹, Christopher M Stafford¹, Edwin P Chan¹

Affiliation

¹ Materials Science and Engineering Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA.

PMID: 26179206
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201501880

Abstract

Indentation of hydrated Nafion thin films reveals that both the in-plane diffusivity of water and the intrinsic permeability of the phase-segregated network decrease dramatically with decreasing film thickness. Using pore-network theory, this decrease in diffusivity is attributed to both an increase in ionic-domain heterogeneity and a reduction in ionic-domain connectivity upon confinement.

Keywords: nafion thin films; network structure; poroelastic relaxation indentation; water transport.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Diffusion
Fluorocarbon Polymers / chemistry*
Membranes, Artificial
Nanotechnology*
Protons
Silicon / chemistry
Surface Properties
Water / chemistry

Substances

Fluorocarbon Polymers
Membranes, Artificial
Protons
Water
perfluorosulfonic acid
Silicon