Protic ionic liquids: an alternative proton-conducting electrolyte for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Abstract

A novel anhydrous proton-conductive membrane, composed of an ionic liquid tertiary amine phosphate as the electrolyte and polypropylene-nonwoven as the matrix, was first proposed and applied in high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The single cell fabricated with the PP-NW/[N₁₁₁]·H₂PO₄ composite membrane gives a stable current density of 600 mA cm⁻² under 140 °C and non-humidification conditions, making the proton exchange membranes based on ionic liquids much more prospective for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells.