PILs-based Nafion membranes: a route to high-temperature PEFMCs dedicated to electric and hybrid vehicles

This paper deals with the performance of anhydrous proton‐conducting polymers obtained by blending modified Nafion® membranes with proton conducting ionic liquids (PILs). It has been shown that the conductivities depend more on the PIL uptake than on its intrinsic conductivity. Conductivities at 130°C approaching those of current Nafion membranes at 80°C and 98% relative humidity were obtained with the best blends. These data allow considering MEA operating at 120–130°C based on membrane and electrodes incorporating these blends. This is clearly a positive feature for an implementation in hybrid vehicles powered by proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) operating above 100°C. Lastly, preliminary results for a PIL based on a half‐neutralized diamine show an improvement in oxidation and, provided that the neutralization is optimized, a neat reinforcement of the Nafion membrane can be expected. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.