H/D isotope effects in high temperature proton conductors

The atomic mass ratio of ca. 2 between deuterium and hydrogen is the highest for any pair of stable isotopes and results in significant and measurable H/D isotope effects in high temperature proton conductors containing these species. This paper discusses H/D isotope effects manifested in O-H/O-D vibration frequencies, the mobility of H⁺/D⁺ carriers, the kinetics of the electrochemical oxidation of H2/D2, the solubilities of H2O/D2O and, finally, the spontaneous electromotive force that appears across H2/D2 cells with proton conducting electrolytes. Comparable work on tritium-exchanged materials is also discussed. The results highlight the usefulness of isotope effects in the study of high temperature proton conductors.