{"63158":{"#nid":"63158","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Giuseppe Brunello - PhD Proposal Defense","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAbstract:\u0026nbsp; Polymer Electrolyte\nMembrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) are one of the most promising fuel cell\ntechnologies to someday supplant the internal combustion engine in\ntransportation; however, several material shortcomings limit their adoption,\nexcept for niche applications. The polymer chosen largely determines the\nfeatures of the fuel cell such as the current capacity, the type of fuels, the\nwater management strategy and the operating temperature. Particularly, the\noperating temperature and the water management are related to each other via\nthe nanophase-segregated structure of the membrane, and furthermore, the\noperating temperature influences the reactivity and stability of catalyst at\nthe catalyst layer and the transport properties through the membrane.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;In this research,\nfirst, a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental molecular mechanisms\nwill be pursued by characterizing the membrane materials using molecular\ndynamics (MD). MD investigates the polymer materials at the atomic level, with\nthe aim to obtain an understanding of the molecular level reasons for the\nthermodynamic properties and transport mechanisms of these membranes. An\nunderstanding of how the structure and size of the clusters affect their\nstability and their dissolution mechanism is sought for the catalysts by\nstudying their quantum mechanical properties. The appropriate tool for this is\ndensity functional theory (DFT). Using the understanding obtained for the\nmembrane and catalyst, an MD model of the three phase interface region will be\ndeveloped to understand how the various materials interact and affect each\nother. \u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Giuseppe Brunello - PhD Proposal Defense"}],"uid":"27388","created_gmt":"2010-12-14 11:27:58","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 01:53:36","author":"Bill Miller","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2010-12-13T09:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2010-12-13T10:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2010-12-13T10:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2010-12-13 14:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2010-12-13 15:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2010-12-13 15:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1238","name":"School of Materials Science and Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"10802","name":"MSE_Interal_Event"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}