Insights on the study of nafion nanoscale morphology by transmission electron microscopy.

ABSTRACT: Nafion is one of the most common materials used for polyelectrolyte membranes and is the standard to which novel materials are compared. In spite of great interest in Nafion's nanostructure, it is still a subject of controversy. While multiple research efforts have addressed Nafion's morphology with Transmission Electron Microscopy, the results of these efforts have often been inconsistent and cannot satisfactorily describe the membrane structure. One of the reasons for differences in the reported results is the lack of sufficient control over the damage caused by electron beam irradiation. In this work, we describe some aspects of damage in the material that have a strong influence on the results. We show that irradiation causes mass loss and phase separation in the material and that the

SUBMITTER: Yakovlev S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4021952 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature