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Published on: July 19, 2019
Proton Conductivity in Phosphoric Acid: The Role of Quantum Effects
M Heres1, Y Wang2, P J Griffin3
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
Abstract:
Phosphoric acid has one of the highest intrinsic proton conductivities of any known liquids, and the mechanism of this exceptional conductivity remains a puzzle. Our detailed experimental studies discovered a strong isotope effect in the conductivity of phosphoric acids caused by (i) a strong isotope shift of the glass transition temperature and (ii) a significant reduction of the energy barrier by zero-point quantum fluctuations. These results suggest that the high conductivity in phosphoric acids is caused by a very efficient proton transfer mechanism, which is strongly assisted by quantum effects.
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