Modulation of proton conductivity in coordination polymer mixed glasses

Mixed glasses with tunable proton conductivities

30 September 2022

By combining two meltable coordination polymers — polymers with metal-cation centres linked by ligands — in different proportions, researchers have succeeded in producing mixed glasses whose proton conductivities can be tuned.

The ability to control the proton conductivity of glasses made from coordination polymers is highly desirable for many applications, including energy storage and conversion, and bio-electronic applications. But the charge-transport behaviour of such mixed glasses has not been investigated to date.

Now, a team led by researchers from Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC) in Thailand has achieved this by mixing two molten coordination polymers together in different proportions and then cooling them.

Both the proton conductivity and the glass transition temperature of the resulting uniformed mixed glasses depended on their composition. It is thus possible to control the proton conductivity by varying the composition of the mixed glasses.

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References

1. Chemical Communications 41, 6035–6150 (2022). doi: 10.1039/d2cc01266a