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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Neutron Spin Echo Spectroscopy as a Unique Probe for Lipid Membrane Dynamics and Membrane-Protein Interactions
Published on: May 27, 2021
Water dynamics in ionomer membranes by field-cycling NMR relaxometry
Jean-Christophe Perrin1, Sandrine Lyonnard, Armel Guillermo
1Structures et Propriétés d'Architectures Moléculaires, UMR 5819 (CEA-CNRS-UJF), DRFMC/SPrAM, CEA-Grenoble, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9, France.
Abstract:
The dynamic behavior of water within two types of ionomer membranes, Nafion and sulfonated polyimides, has been investigated by field-cycling nuclear magnetic relaxation. This technique, applied to materials prepared at different hydration levels, allows to probe the proton motion on a time scale of the microsecond. The NMR longitudinal relaxation rate R(1) measured over three decades of Larmor angular frequencies omega is particularly sensitive to the host-water interactions and thus well suited to study fluid dynamics in restricted geometries. In the polyimide membranes, we have observed a strong dispersion of R(1)(omega) following closely a 1/sqrt[omega] law in a low-frequency range (correlation times from 0.1 to 10 micros). This is indicative of a strong interaction of water with "interfacial" hydrophilic groups of the polymeric matrix (wetting situation). On the contrary, in the Nafion, we observed weak variations of R(1)(omega) at low frequency. This is typical of a nonwetting behavior. At early hydration stages, the proton-proton inter-dipolar contribution to R(1)(omega) evolves logarithmically, suggesting a confined bidimensional diffusion of protons in the microsecond time range. Such an evolution is lost at higher swelling where a plateau related to 3D diffusion is observed.
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