(MIT: Cambridge, MA) -- As the name suggests, most electronic devices today work through the movement of electrons. But materials that can efficiently conduct protons—the nucleus of the hydrogen atom—could be key to many important technologies for combating global climate change.

Most proton-conducting inorganic materials available now require undesirably high temperatures to achieve sufficiently high conductivity. However, lower-temperature alternatives could enable a variety of technologies, such as more efficient and durable fuel cells to produce clean electricity from hydrogen, electrolyzers to make clean fuels such as hydrogen for transportation, solid-state proton batteries, and even new kinds of computing devices based on iono-electronic effects.

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