Progress in hybrid composite Nafion®-based membranes for proton exchange fuel cell application

•Development in the field of hybrid composite Nafion-based membranes.•Inorganic/organic fillers and ionic liquids.•Membranes with increased water stability and proton conductivity. Up to date, more than 50% of energy is produced by burning of non-renewable fossil fuels (i.e. coal, petroleum and natural gas). The combustion reaction is accompanied by the release of large amount of greenhouse and carbon dioxide gases, and also leads to environmental pollution by sulfur and nitrogen oxides. Due to the humanity dependence on fossil fuels as well as global warming problems, in recent years a lot of works have been performed studying the renewable energy sources, storage, and transformation energy devices. One of the most perspective energy devices is fuel cells and especially the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). This review presents the latest development in the field of membranes for PEMFCs. Special attention was paid to the hybrid membranes based on Nafion® and inorganic/organic fillers and ionic liquids.