title: Proton Conductivity in Phosphoric Acid: The Role of Quantum Effects.
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.
authors: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Heres
authors: Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors: P J
authors: PJ
authors: Griffin
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Gainaru
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA.|Chemical Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.
authors: A P
authors: AP
authors: Sokolov