NMR Investigation of Water Diffusion in a Nafion Membrane Under Traction

摘要

Surface NMR probes are appropriate for the study of water properties in thin films as they offer a high signal to noise ratio. Using a new methodology that combines the use of a surface probe and a mini traction machine we performed water self-diffusion measurements in a unique Nafion membrane under traction. We observe that the diffusion anisotropy, correlated to the imposed order in the membrane, is much higher than in a stack of stretched/released samples hydrated at similar water content. The same approach can be used to study membranes under compression.