Targeted filling of silica in Nafion by a modified in situ sol–gel method for enhanced fuel cell performance at elevated temperatures and low humidity

Abstract

Herein, a modified in situ sol–gel method was applied to prepare the Nafion/silica composite membrane with targeted filling of silica into ionic clusters. The low humidity (20–60% RH) proton conductivity of Nafion was therefore doubled at elevated temperatures (110–120 °C), and the high-temperature fuel cell performance was significantly improved by 45%.