Fullerene based proton conductive materials
AssigneeSony Corporation
InventorsBerthold Nuber, Bjoern Pietzak
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Abstract
A fullerene-based proton conductor including a proton conductive functional group connected to the fullerene by an at least partially fluorinated spacer molecule. Also, a polymer including at least two of the proton conductors that are connected by a linking molecule. Further, an electrochemical device employing the polymer as a proton exchange membrane, whereby the device is able to achieve a self-humidifying characteristic.
Claims19
A proton conductor comprising a fullerene molecule, a spacer molecule attached to said fullerene molecule, and a proton conductive functional group attached to said spacer molecule wherein said spacer molecule is an at least partially fluorinated molecule.
A method of making a proton conductor comprising:
- combining a fullerene with a spacer-molecule precursor wherein said spacer-molecule precursor comprises an at least partially fluorinated compound and includes an acid precursor group forming a first reaction product;
- hydrolyzing the first reaction product;
- forming a second reaction product;
- protonating the second reaction product;
- and
- forming a proton conductor including a proton conductive functional group attached to said fullerene by a spacer molecule that is formed from said spacer-molecule precursor and that is at least partially fluorinated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.