Abstract
Proton-conducting glasses were prepared using a sol-gel method and their proton conductivies were related with their porous properties. As the pore size decreases, the pores are filled with the water molecules at low humidity, which act to form the pathways of the proton transfer. The phosphorus silicate glasses having pores with size smaller than 5 nm exhibited high proton conductivities higher than 100 mS/cm at room temperature. The conductivity of these glasses was high in temperature range down to -40oC. The conductivity at 150oC was 170 mS/cm. We could conclude that the sol-gel-derived glasses have potential for the electrolyte of the fuel cell operating in wide temperature range.
