It
is of great significance to develop creative proton exchange
membrane materials for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs).
The strategy of doping metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with
guest molecules into the Nafion matrix is adopted to improve the electrochemical
performance of Nafion hybrid membranes. Various and abundant hydrogen
bonds can make a tremendous contribution to the proton conduction
of hybrid membranes. In this work, we used high proton-conducting
Zn-MOFs with the characteristics of host–guest collaborative
hydrogen bonds as the filler to prepare Zn-MOF/Nafion hybrid membranes.
Alternating current (AC) impedance tests show that when the doping
amount of Zn-MOF is 5%, the proton conductivity reaches 7.29 ×
10–3 S·cm–1, being 1.87 times
that of the pure Nafion membrane at 58% relative humidity (RH) and
80 °C. In an attempt to prove the promotion effect of guest NH3 on proton conductivity of Nafion hybrid membranes, Zn-MOF-NH3 was filled into the Nafion matrix. Under the same conditions,
its proton conductivity reaches the maximum value of 2.13 × 10–2 S·cm–1, which is 5.47 times
that of the pure Nafion membrane. Zn-MOF-NH3/Nafion-5 was
used to fabricate a proton exchange membrane for application in H2/O2 fuel cells. The maximum power density of 212
mW cm–2 and a current density of 630 mA cm–2 reveal a respectable single cell performance. This study provides
a promising method for optimizing the structure of MOF proton conductors
and inspires the preparation of high-performance Nafion hybrid membranes.
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