| Abstract Scope |
Control of ionomer thin film structures on metal surfaces is pivotal for efficient performance in electrochemical devices such as fuel cells and electrolyzers. Unfortunately, the assembly of these thin film structures is difficult to control using conventional methods. Engineered polypeptides have emerged as powerful tools in electrode assembly because binding sites and structures can be easily modulated by changing the amino acid sequence. Our lab has recently developed this technology using an elastin-like polypeptide to bind to metals and bind to acidic and basic ionomer via ionic interactions. Using a variety of surface characterization techniques, we show that our biomolecular system is highly flexible, easily adapting to different materials, and can be used to improve the performance of ionomer thin films to gain structure-function understanding. Generally, our results demonstrate that engineered polypeptides are promising tools for ionomer control in fuel cells/electrolyzers and beyond. |