Nafion Â©, which was discovered at DuPont in the 1960s, is a
polymer membrane that conducts ions and water through its
nanostructure. This property makes the material important for a
number of industrial energy applications, such as fuel cells,
organic batteries, and reverse-osmosis water purification. But
the material, which is a polymer electrolyte, has also tickled
the curiosity of researchers because they haven’t been able to
get the details of how it works. A research team led by chemist
Louis Madsen recently described in an article in Nature
Materials how they found a way to understand Nafion’s internal
structure. In doing so, they discovered how they can tweak the
material to make it work even better for various applications.
As Research Division Communications Manager at Virginia Tech
News, Susan Trulove, explains: Nafion is made up of molecules
that combine the non-stick and tough nature of Teflon with the
conductive properties of an acid, such as battery acid. A
network of tiny channels, nanometers