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Summary The aim of this PhD thesis is the preparation and study of new materials to be used as electrolytes in Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC) in order to reduce crossover of methanol. Different materials have been prepared, including polymer dispersed liquid crystals, crosslinked polymers with high protonic conductivity and polymeric liquid crystals. Moreover, a methodology to characterise potential new materials for their application in DMFC has been developed. The absorption properties of water and methanol in the materials have been studied in different conditions and compared with the results obtained for commercial Nafion membranes used in DFMC. The absorption and diffusion properties of water and methanol through the materials have been studied by means of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and thermal analysis techniques. The methodology provides important information to analyse the interactions between the different functional groups of the polymers and the solvents commonly used in DMFC. Finally, a device has been designed and set-up to analyse the effect on crossover of methanol of the electro-osmotic drag and the polarisation of the polymeric electrolytes. / Martinez Felipe, A. (2009). Preparation and characterisation of new materials for electrolytes used in Direct Methanol Fuel Cells [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/8327

[pt] Cristais líquidos são formados em alta concentração de surfactantes e apresentam muitas propriedades interessantes como a auto-organização, alta capacidade de incorporação de substâncias hidrofóbicas, propriedades reológicas únicas, além de conservarem as propriedades úteis e versáteis dos surfactantes. Entretanto, devido sua alta viscosidade, são inviáveis para determinadas aplicações, como por sprays e por injeções, por exemplo. Portanto, o objetivo principal deste trabalho é dispersar e estabilizar os cristais líquidos sob a forma de partículas em meio aquoso, que sejam capazes de encapsular óleos e ou substâncias hidrofóbicas, mantendo. Para isso, diferentes sistemas foram preparados combinando surfactantes iônicos, álcoois graxos e surfactantes não-iônicos etoxilados, com diferentes comprimentos de cadeias. A adição de álcoois graxos a surfactantes iônicos já é comumente usada para garantir a formação de cristais líquidos de estrutura lamelar. E a adição de surfactantes etoxilados foi realizada como uma tentativa de promover a dispersão dos cristais líquidos na forma de partículas em água. Isso se daria graças às cadeias etoxiladas hidrofílicas que poderiam se estender em direção ao meio aquoso, garantindo uma alta estabilização. Para o planejamento otimizado destes sistemas, primeiramente foi realizado um estudo de caracterização das estruturas formadas entre os pares dos reagentes em água, que permitiu compreender o efeito das diferentes proporções entre eles. A partir disso, algumas composições foram selecionadas para o preparo e caracterização das dispersões de partículas líquido-cristalinas. Os resultados de espalhamento de raios X a baixos ângulos e microscopia óptica confirmaram a estrutura líquido-cristalina lamelar, forneceram informações sobre a morfologia e dimensões das partículas. Por fim, foram realizados testes que confirmaram a capacidade de incorporação de óleo mineral pelas partículas selecionadas. Estes sistemas possuem a vantagem de serem preparados com substâncias já amplamente utilizadas na indústria de cosméticos. Desta forma, se confirmado o potencial de aplicação para liberação controlada, poderiam ser facilmente direcionados para aplicações em escala industrial com matérias primas de fácil acesso, com bastante disponibilidade comercialmente e custos relativamente baixos. / [en] Liquid crystals are formed in high concentration of surfactants and present many interesting properties such as self-organization, high uptake capacity of hydrophobic substances, unique rheological properties, despite of keeping the useful and versatile properties of surfactants. However, due to their high viscosity, they are inadequate to certain applications, such as spraying or injections. Hence, the main objective of this work is dispersing and stabilizing liquid crystals in the shape of particles in aqueous medium, being capable of encapsulate oils and or hydrophobic substances. For this, different systems were prepared by combining ionic surfactants, fatty alcohols and ethoxylated non-ionic surfactants, with different chain lengths. The addition of fatty alcohols to ionic surfactants is commonly used to guarantee the formation of liquid crystals with lamellar structure. And the addition of ethoxylated surfactants was performed as an attempt to promote the dispersion of liquid crystal in the shape of particles in water. It should occur due to the hydrophilic chains of ethylene oxide, which could extend towards the aqueous medium, guaranteeing high stability. To optimize the design of the systems, first, a study was performed to characterize the structures formed by the pairs of reactants in water, allowing to comprehend the effect of different proportions between them. From that, some compositions were selected to the preparation and characterization of dispersions of liquid-crystalline particles. The results of Small Angle X-Ray Scattering and optical microscopy confirmed the lamellar liquid-crystalline structure and provided information about the morphology and dimensions of the particles. Finally, tests were performed to confirm the capacity of uptake mineral oil by the selected particles. These systems possess the advantage of being prepared with substances widely used in the cosmetics industry. Thus, if the potential application to controlled delivery is confirmed, they could easily be directed to applications in industrial scale with easily accessible raw materials, with plenty of commercial availability and relatively low costs.

No / Keratinocyte traction forces play a crucial role in wound healing. The aim of this study was to develop a novel cell traction force (CTF) transducer system based on cholesteryl ester liquid crystals (LC). Keratinocytes cultured on LC induced linear and isolated deformation lines in the LC surface. As suggested by the fluorescence staining, the deformation lines appeared to correlate with the forces generated by the contraction of circumferential actin filaments which were transmitted to the LC surface via the focal adhesions. Due to the linear viscoelastic behavior of the LC, Hooke's equation was used to quantify the CTFs by associating Young's modulus of LC to the cell induced stresses and biaxial strain in forming the LC deformation. Young's modulus of the LC was profiled by using spherical indentation and determined at approximately 87.1+/-17.2kPa. A new technique involving cytochalasin-B treatment was used to disrupt the intracellular force generating actin fibers, and consequently the biaxial strain in the LC induced by the cells was determined. Due to the improved sensitivity and spatial resolution ( approximately 1mum) of the LC based CTF transducer, a wide range of CTFs was determined (10-120nN). These were found to be linearly proportional to the length of the deformations. The linear relationship of CTF-deformations was then applied in a bespoke CTF mapping software to estimate CTFs and to map CTF fields. The generated CTF map highlighted distinct distributions and different magnitude of CTFs were revealed for polarized and non-polarized keratinocytes.