Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Mechanical and electrochemical phenomena exhibit many interesting multidirectional couplings in ion-exchange soft matter due to their intrinsic material physiochemical states and responses to environmental stressors. In this Perspective, such coupling is explored in terms of recent studies with a focus on the degradation of polymer-electrolyte fuel-cell membranes. In addition, (electro)chemical-mechanical coupling of ion-conducting polymers in other applications is also introduced, as there is a research need to explore the interactions between these often wrongly assumed disparate fields in order to optimize, exploit, and discover new technologies and applications.