Nafion (a perfluorosulfonic acid membrane) is widely used in fuel cells to conduct protons, but Nafion membranes are prone to rapid dehydration at low humidity, which results in a loss of conductivity.
To overcome this problem, scientists in China have made a metal-organic framework (MOF) containing protonated tertiary amines as intrinsic proton carriers and hydrogen-bonding chains as proton-conducting pathways.
A series of composite membranes with different contents of MOF crystals were prepared by blending MOF submicrorods with a polymer for the exploration of further applications of MOFs in fuel cells under low humidity. The MOFs displayed low-humidity proton conductivity.
Read this interesting article hot off the press:
From Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) to MOF/Polymer Composite Membrane: Enhancement of Low-Humidity Proton Conductivity
Xiao Qiang Liang , Feng Zhang , Wei Feng , Xiaoqin Zou , Chengji Zhao , Hui Na , Cong Liu , Guangshan Zhu and Fuxing Sun
Chem. Sci., 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2SC21927A
