Endurance of Nafion-composite membranes in PEFCs operating at elevated temperature under low relative-humidity

PEFCs employing Nafion–silica (Nafion–SiO 2 ) and Nafion-mesoporous zirconium phosphate (Nafion–MZP) composite membranes are subjected to accelerated-durability test at 100°C and 15% relative humidity (RH) at open-circuit voltage (OCV) for 50 h and performance compared with the PEFC employing pristine Nafion-1135 membrane. PEFCs with composite membranes sustain the operating voltage better with fluoride-ion-emission rate at least an order of magnitude lower than PEFC with pristine Nafion-1135 membrane. Reduced gas-crossover, fast fuel-cell-reaction kinetics and superior performance of the PEFCs with Nafion-SiO 2 and Nafion-MZP composite membranes in relation to the PEFC with pristine Nafion-1135 membrane support the long-term operational usage of the former in PEFCs. An 8-cell PEFC stack employing Nafion–SiO 2 composite membrane is also assembled and successfully operated at 60°C without external humidification. Graphical Abstract PEFCs with Nafion-SiO 2 and Nafion-MZP composite membranes exhibit better performance with reduced gas-crossover, faster fuel-cell-reaction kinetics, and lower fluoride-ion-emission rate in relation to the PEFCs with pristine Nafion-1135 membrane.