(1) Background: Ionotropic gelation of cost-effective and eco-friendly biopolymer chitosan (Chit) is a novel and promising approach to the one-step synthesis of proton-conducting fuel cell bio-membranes.The method discovered by the author in 2011 and subsequently drowned among very few papers. This work aimed to relaunch this method through clear and effective communication of new unpublished results emphasizing the key aspects of this topic for successful dissemination of the results and significant future developments. (2) Methods and results: The mechanism of in-situ ionotropic gelation of Chit on an alumina substrate by phosphotungtate anions (PWA3−) was discussed and analyzed. The study sheds light on the effect of prolonged post-treatment in phosphotungstic acid (PWA) solution on the obtained chitosan/phosphotungstate (Chit-PWA) flat structures. Methods used included combined structural (XRD), thermal-gravimetric (DTG), electrochemical (in-situ EIS), compositional (EDX),morphological analysis (SEM), as well as the performances in a low temperature H2/O2 fuel cell(4) Conclusions: This contribution discloses novel possibilities aimed at increasing the impact of ionotropic gelation of chitosan on the scientific community working on the synthesis of novel proton conductive bio-composite membranes and structures.

中文翻译：

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壳聚糖离子凝胶化用于下一代复合质子传导平面结构


（1）背景：经济高效且环保的生物聚合物壳聚糖（Chit）的离子致凝胶化是一种新颖且有前途的一步合成质子传导燃料电池生物膜的方法。该方法由作者于2011年发现随后淹没在极少数论文中。这项工作旨在通过清晰有效地传达新的未发表结果来重新启动这种方法，强调该主题成功传播结果和重大未来发展的关键方面。 (2)方法与结果：讨论并分析了磷钨酸盐阴离子(PWA3−)在氧化铝基质上原位离子凝胶化Chit的机理。该研究揭示了磷钨酸（PWA）溶液中长时间后处理对获得的壳聚糖/磷钨酸盐（Chit-PWA）平面结构的影响。使用的方法包括组合结构 (XRD)、热重分析 (DTG)、电化学（原位 EIS）、成分分析 (EDX)、形貌分析 (SEM)，以及低温 H2/O2 燃料电池的性能（ 4) 结论：本贡献揭示了新的可能性，旨在增加壳聚糖离子凝胶对科学界合成新型质子传导生物复合膜和结构的影响。