In this paper, experimental and simulated data for the diffusion of water across Nafion membranes as a function of the water activity gradient are presented. The gradient in the activity of water across the membrane was varied by changing the flow rate and pressure of nitrogen gas on one side of the membrane. The other side of the membrane was equilibrated with liquid water. It was found that the model predictions are very sensitive to the value of the diffusion coefficient of water in Nafion. Using the Fickian diffusion coefficient extracted from self-diffusion measurements reported in the literature, the model simulations matched experimental data with less than 5% error over a wide range of operating conditions.

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Nickel oxide films were prepared by electrochemically precipitating the hydroxide and heating it in air to form the oxide. The resulting oxide films behave as a capacitor. The capacitance of the oxide depends on the heating temperature, showing a maximum at 300ЊC. The mechanism of charge storage was studied by measuring the capacitance and surface area as a function of heating temperature, and the capacitance in different electrolytes and potential windows. The charge-storage mechanism is believed to be a surface redox reaction involving adsorbed hydroxyl ions.

Porous nickel oxide films were prepared by electrochemically precipitating nickel hydroxide and heating the hydroxide in air at 300°C. The resulting nickel oxide films behave as an electrochemical capacitor with a specific capacitance of 59 Flg electrode material. These nickel oxide films maintain high utilization at high rates of discharge (i.e., high power density) and have excellent cycle life. Porous cobalt oxide films were also synthesized. Although the specific capacitances of these films are approximately one-fifth that of the nickel oxide films, the results demonstrate the versatility of fabricating a wide range of porous metal oxide films using this electrochemical route for use in capacitor applications.