This paper will explore mechanisms and methodologies to determine the potential for radical improvement in transport properties via the nanocomposite and the combinatorial chemistry and material science methods. The quest for high flux, high selectivity membranes with chemical, mechanical and thermal stability has led membrane researchers to explore hybrid or nanocomposite structures of inorganic domains within an organic matrix. Several researchers have reported increased free volume, permeability and selectivity using this approach . Incorporation of nanometer-sized domains of an inorganic phase within an organic matrix has also been used by the solid state ionics community to improve ionic conductivity of polymer electrolytes. Again, the mechanism of improvement has been attributed to increased free volume. However, in the case of solid polymer electrolytes, the additional role of the interaction of the nanoparticles with the polymer-salt complex is important. The nanoparticle surface appears to effectively compete with the cations for coordination of the ether oxygens of the polymer thereby increasing the number of mobile charge carriers while increasing the free volume.
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