Proton wires are environmentally friendly structures, well known to self-assemble and shuttle protons through hydrogen bonding networks, comprised of electron donating and electron receiving species. Water serves as the most common amphiprotic species and materials like Nafion (the most common proton exchange membrane in fuel cells) rely on water to facilitate proton transfer, rendering them unsuitable for operation at high temperatures, thus limiting both performance and tolerance to impurities. An alternative is to consider the design of imidazole containing groups in proton wire membranes. In this presentation, we explore the self-assembly of tripeptides to create an alternative proton-transfer membrane. Specifically, we explore the design and characterization of tripeptides that contain histidine, uncharged, as well as charged amphiphilic residues and investigate their self-assembly and proton transfer properties.

Changing variables: Alternatives to an alternative and the self-assembly of better proton wire

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.