Water mobility in a water‐soaked nafion® membrane: A high‐resolution neutron quasielastic study

Water mobility in an acid Nafion® membrane containing ca. 15% water by weight has been studied by high‐resolution neutron quasielastic scattering (NQES). The data are analyzed in terms of simple models. On a scale of ca. 10 Å, the water molecules move practically as freely as in bulk water, but their long‐range motion is much more hindered. These results are important for an understanding of the relation between the microstructure and the macroscopic properties of these membranes. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed NQES study of the water‐polymer interaction problem.