Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are among the most promising electrochemical devices for transport energy conversion due to their high energy density at medium operating temperatures. PEM is a central component, acting as the fuel barrier and providing proton conduction. The amphiphilic nature of polyelectrolytes leads to nanoscale phase separation resulting in the presence of parallel hydrophilic nanochannels randomly distributed throughout the matrix. Considering the model for ionic phase separation of Nafion as a state-of-the-art polyelectrolyte membrane, it could be speculated that phase separation and nanochannel formation could be less disturbed in the presence of 1D nanoadditives compared to spherical nanoparticles. We studied the potential of cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) as promising rod-like nanomaterials to regulate microstructure of Nafion. We exploit aligning capability of CNWs induced through an applied external electric field and design polyelectrolyte matrices with improved anisotropic proton conductivity and as a results superior electrochemical performance.

Aligned cellulose nanowhisker-based high-performance polymeric proton conductors<br />

249th National Meeting (2015)

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