Copolymerization of Divinylsilyl‐11‐silicotungstic Acid with Butyl Acrylate and Hexanediol Diacrylate: Synthesis of a Highly Proton‐Conductive Membrane for Fuel‐Cell Applications

Highly conducive to high conductivity: Polyoxometalates were incorporated in the backbone of a hydrocarbon polymer to produce proton-conducting films. These first-generation materials contain large, dispersed clusters of polyoxometalates. Although the morphology of these films is not yet optimal, they already demonstrate practical proton conductivities and proton diffusion within the clusters appears to be very high.