Organic-inorganic nanocomposite polymer electrolyte membranes for fuel cell applications

Organic-inorganic nanocomposite polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) contains nano-sized inorganic building blocks in organic polymer by molecular level of hybridization. This architecture has opened the possibility to combine in a single solid both the attractive properties of a mechanically and thermally stable inorganic backbone and the specific chemical reactivity, dielectric, ductility, flexibility, and processability of the organic polymer. The state-of-the-art of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell technology is based on perfluoro sulfonic acid membranes, which have some key issues and shortcomings such as: water management, CO poisoning, hydrogen reformate and fuel crossover. Organic-inorganic nanocomposite PEM show excellent potential for solving these problems and have attracted a lot of attention during the last ten years. Disparate characteristics (e.g., solubility and thermal stability) of the two components, provide potential barriers towards convenient membrane preparation strategies, but recent research demonstrates relatively simple processes for developing highly efficient nanocomposite PEMs. Objectives for the development of organic-inorganic nanocomposite PEM reported in the literature include several modifications: (1) improving the self-humidification of the membrane; (2) reducing the electro-osmotic drag and fuel crossover; (3) improving the mechanical and thermal strengths without deteriorating proton conductivity; (4) enhancing the proton conductivity by introducing solid inorganic proton conductors; and (5) achieving slow drying PEMs with high water retention capability. Research carried out during the last decade on this topic can be divided into four categories: (i) doping inorganic proton conductors in PEMs; (ii) nanocomposites by sol-gel method; (iii) covalently bonded inorganic segments with organic polymer chains; and (iv) acid-base PEM nanocomposites. The purpose here is to summarize the state-of-the-art in the development of organic-inorganic nanocomposite PEMs for fuel cell applications.