Chemical and radiation crosslinked polymer electrolyte membranes prepared from radiation-grafted ETFE films for DMFC applications

To develop a highly chemically stable polymer electrolyte membrane for application in a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), doubly crosslinked membranes were prepared by chemical crosslinking using bifunctional monomers, such as divinylbenzene (DVB) and bis(p,p-vinyl phenyl) ethane (BVPE), and by radiation crosslinking. The membranes were prepared by grafting of m,p-methylstyrene (MeSt) and p-tert-butylstyrene (tBuSt) into poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) films and subsequent sulfonation. The effects of the DVB and BVPE crosslinkers on the grafting kinetics and the properties of the prepared membranes, such as water uptake, proton conductivity and chemical stability were investigated. Radiation crosslinking was introduced by irradiation of the ETFE base film, the grafted film or the sulfonated membrane. The membrane crosslinked by DVB and BVPE crosslinkers and post-crosslinked by γ-ray irradiation of the corresponding grafted film possessed the highest chemical stability among the prepared membranes, a significantly lower methanol permeability compared to Nafion^® membranes, and a better DMFC performance for high methanol feed concentration. Therefore, this doubly crosslinked membrane was promising for application in a DMFC where relatively high methanol concentration could be fed.     

Crosslinked composite membrane by radiation grafting of 4-vinylpyridine/triallyl-cyanurate mixtures onto poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) and phosphoric acid doping

New crosslinked composite membranes containing doped phosphoric acid (PA) were prepared by radiation induced grafting of 4-vinylpyridine (4-VP) and triallyl cyanurate (TAC) mixtures at various concentrations onto poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) films followed by acid doping. The effect of grafting parameters such as TAC concentration, absorbed dose and monomer concentration on the degree of grafting was investigated. The properties of the obtained membranes such as chemical composition, thermal stability and mechanical properties were evaluated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and universal mechanical tester, respectively. The proton conductivity of the membranes was investigated in correlation with TAC content and temperature using the impedance spectroscopy. Of all samples, the crosslinked membrane obtained from grafting a mixture of 4-VP with 5 vol% TAC having a DG of 65% exhibited proton conductivity as high as 39 mS/cm under dry condition at 120 °C. The mechanical properties of the crosslinked membranes were significantly improved compared to the non-crosslinked counterpart. The presence of an interesting combination of properties in PA doped crosslinked membrane suggests a potential for application in medium temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell.     

Phosphoric acid doped polymer electrolyte membrane based on radiation grafted poly(1-vinylimidazole-co-1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone)-g-poly(ethylene/tetrafluoroethylene) copolymer and investigation of grafting kinetics

A novel composite membrane containing Phosphoric Acid (PA) for possible application in high temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (HT-PEMFC) was prepared by radiation-induced copolymerization of 1-vinylimidazole (1-Vlm) and 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (1-V-2-P) onto poly (ethylene-alt-tetrafluoroethylene), ETFE films (ETFE-g-P(1-Vlm-co-1-V-2-P)) followed by protonation through PA doping. The preparation procedure involved three steps: i) Irradiation of ETFE films by an electron beam (EB) accelerator, ii) copolymerization of 1-Vlm-co-1-V-2-P onto the EB-preirradiated ETFE films under selected conditions and iii) acid doping of the grafted ETFE films with PA. The physiochemical properties of the resulted membranes were analysed in terms of degree of grafting (DG), grafting compositions, ionic conductivity, thermal properties and thermal stability using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) fitted with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) , respectively. The results showed that the physiochemical properties of the membranes are comparable to Nafion 117 especially their thermal stability. At 120 °C and 0% relative humidity the membrane remained stable at 76% DG and 7.6 mmol repeat polymer unit^?1 with ionic conductivity of 53 mS cm^?1. Overall the characterization tests indicated that the membrane displayed impressive thermos-chemical and physical properties with less water dependency. At 200 °C the membrane remained thermally stable which enhances the membrane's potential application in high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) operating at 100 °C and above. Grafting kinetics of nitrogenous and heterocyclic 1-Vim-co-1-V-2-P onto EB-preirradiated ETFE films were also investigated in conjunction with reaction parameters namely: monomer concentration (M), reaction temperature (RT), and absorbed dose (D). This was achieved by the determination of three kinetic parameters namely: the initial polymerization rate (r_p0), characteristics radical recombination rate (γ) and delay time (t₀) respectively. The variation of r_p0 with D and M allows the determination of the order of dependence of grafting rate (R_g) on D and M which are 2.23 and 3.39 respectively. Activation energy (E_a) was also determined followed by temperature effect investigation in the range of 50–70 °C.     

Macromolecule sulfonated Poly(ether ether ketone) crosslinked poly(4,4′-diphenylether-5,5′-bibenzimidazole) proton exchange membranes: Broaden the temperature application range and enhanced mechanical properties

Proton exchange membranes with a wide application temperature range were fabricated to start high-temperature fuel cells under room temperature. The volume swelling stability, oxidative stability as well as mechanical properties of crosslinked membranes have been improved for covalently crosslinking poly(4,4′-diphenylether-5,5′-bibenzimidazole) (OPBI) with fluorine-terminated sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (F-SPEEK) via N-substitution reactions. High proton conductivity was simultaneously realized at both high (80–160 °C) and low (40–80 °C) temperatures by crosslinking and jointly constructing hydrophilic-hydrophobic channels. The crosslinked membranes exhibited the highest proton conductivity of 191 mS cm⁻¹ at 80 °C under 98% relative humidity (RH) and 38 mS cm⁻¹ at 160 °C under anhydrous, respectively. Compared with OPBI membrane, the fuel cell performance of the crosslinked membranes showed higher peak power density at full temperature range (40–160 °C).     

Synthesis and characterization of crosslinked sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) membranes for high temperature PEMFC applications

Sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymers containing carboxyl groups are prepared by an aromatic substitution polymerization reaction using phenolphthalin, 3,3′-disulfonated-4,4′-dichlorodiphenyl sulfone, 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyl sulfone and 4,4′-bisphenol A as polymer electrolyte membranes for the development of high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Thin, ductile films are fabricated by the solution casting method, which resulted in membranes with a thickness of approximately 50 μm. Hydroquinone is used to crosslink the prepared copolymer in the presence of the catalyst, sodium hypophosphite. The synthesized copolymers and membranes are characterized by ¹H NMR, FT-IR, TGA, ion exchange capacity, water uptake and proton conductivity measurements. The water uptake and proton conductivity of the membranes are decreased with increasing the degree of crosslinking which is determined by phenolphthalin content in the copolymer (0-15 mol%). The prepared membranes are tested in a 9 cm² commercial single cell at 80 °C and 120 °C in humidified H₂/air under different relative humidity conditions. The uncrosslinked membrane is found to perform better than the crosslinked membranes at 80 °C; however, the crosslinked membranes perform better at 120 °C. The crosslinked membrane containing 10 mol% of phenolphthalin (CPS-PP10) shows the best performance of 600 mA cm⁻² at 0.6 V and better performance than the commercial Nafion^® 112 (540 mA cm⁻² at 0.6 V) at 120 °C and 30 % RH.     

Quantitative analysis of proton exchange membrane prepared by radiation-induced grafting on ultra-thin FEP film

Radiation-induced graft polymerization is introduced to effectively fabricate proton exchange membrane based on 12.5 μm fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) film. The graft side chains penetrate FEP film and distribute inside the bulk matrix evenly. The membranes exhibit hydrophilic/hydrophobic microphase-separated morphology as well as good thermal stability. The influences of irradiation parameters on the membrane property are investigated and the resulting membranes (named FEP-g-PSSA) exhibit excellent physicochemical properties. Membrane with 27.48% degree of graft and 130.1 mS cm^?1 proton conductivity is employed for fuel cell performance measurement. Under optimized operate conditions (80 °C, 75% relative humidity), the power density could reach up to 0.896 W cm^?2, inspiring for fuel cell application. The mass-transport-controlled polarization of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) based on FEP-g-PSSA membrane is higher than Nafion® 211 within the whole current density range and the gap is widening with increasing current density. At 2.0 A cm^?2, the mass transfer polarization of FEP-g-PSSA reaches up to 0.204 V, far higher than Nafion® 211 (0.084 V). By promoting the compatibility between the ionomer in the catalyst layer and FEP-g-PSSA membrane and optimizing the membrane/catalyst layer/gas diffusion layer interfaces, the fuel cell performance could be significantly enhanced, making the FEP-g-PSSA membranes promising in fuel cell application.     

Mechanical properties and morphology of polystyrene-co-acrylic acid synthesized as membranes for fuel cells

Two copolymers of poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) (PS-AA) were synthesized in solution by radical polymerization and partially crosslinked by adding, either trimethylol propane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) or divinylbenzene (DVB) to improve mechanical resistance. Copolymers were sulfonated with theoretical molar quantities of sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄ = 170%) and two different amounts of silver sulfate (Ag₂SO₄ = 0.11 or 0.055%). Materials were dissolved in three different solvent compositions: copolymer + THF, copolymer + THF+55% DMSO and copolymer + THF+110% DMSO and used to prepare membranes prepared by casting. Membranes were characterized by Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Ionic Exchange Capacity (IEC) and Water Uptake (WU) capacity. Addition of DMSO to THF during casting procedure has an important increment on IEC and WU results; however, mechanical resistance is considerably reduced. SEM images show almost no pores in the membranes casted from THF alone, while increasing the amount of DMSO enhances porosity. Such phenomenon is responsible for reduced mechanical property (brittleness), as seen by TMA.     

Crosslinked sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) proton exchange membranes for direct methanol fuel cell applications

In the present study, a series of the crosslinked sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) proton exchange membranes were prepared. The photochemical crosslinking of the SPEEK membranes was carried out by dissolving benzophenone and triethylamine photo-initiator system in the membrane casting solution and then exposing the resulting membranes after solvent evaporation to UV light. The physical and transport properties of crosslinked membranes were investigated. The membrane performance can be controlled by adjusting the photoirradiation time. The experimental results showed that the crosslinked SPEEK membranes with photoirradiation 10 min had the optimum performance for proton exchange membranes (PEMs). Compared with the non-crosslinked SPEEK membranes, the crosslinked SPEEK membranes with photoirradiation 10 min markedly improved thermal stabilities and mechanical properties as well as hydrolytic and oxidative stabilities, greatly reduced water uptake and methanol diffusion coefficients with only slight sacrifice in proton conductivities. Therefore, the crosslinked SPEEK membranes with photoirradiation 10 min were particularly promising as proton exchange membranes for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications.     

Crosslinked carbon nanodots with highly sulfonated polyphenylsulfone as proton exchange membrane for fuel cell applications

The crosslinked highly sulfonated polyphenylsulfone (SPPSU) membranes that consists of carbon nanodots (CNDs) was prepared as a proton exchange membrane for fuel cell applications. The crosslinked membranes were developed by annealing at 180 °C, in which the crosslinking occurred between the SPPSU and CNDs. The CNDs potential was explored in detail under various loadings (0 wt %, 1 wt %, 2 wt %, and 3 wt %). Upon annealing at 180 °C, the flexibilities and strength of the SPPSU-CNDs membranes improved. The proton conductivity of the crosslinked membrane was enhanced than that of pristine SPPSU membrane due to the crosslinking effect between SPPSU and CNDs. The highest conductivity, which was at 56.3 mS/cm was obtained when 3 wt % of CNDs was incorporated at 80 °C and 90% relative humidity (RH). The results indicated that the incorporation of CNDs in the SPPSU membrane by annealing at 180 °C, exhibited a proton conductive membrane in combination with superior dimensional stability, and proton conductivity suitable for fuel cell applications.     

Cross-linked, ETFE-derived and radiation grafted membranes for anion exchange membrane fuel cell applications

To develop a series of cross-linked anion exchange membranes for application in fuel cells, poly(ethylene-co-tetrafluoroethylene) (ETFE) films was radiation grafted with vinyl benzyl chloride (VBC), followed by quaternization and crosslinking with 1,4-Diazabicyclo[2,2,2]octane (DABCO), alkylation with p-Xylylenedichloride (DCX), and quaternization again with trimethylamine (TMA). These anion exchange membranes were characterized in terms of water uptake, ion-exchange capacity, ionic conductivity as well as thermal stability. The chemical structures of the membranes were examined by FT-IR. The anion conductivity of the resulting alkaline anion exchange membrane is as high as 0.039 S cm⁻¹ at 30 °C in deionized water and the ionic conductivity increases with the increasing of temperature from 20 to 80 °C. The membrane is stable after being treated by 10 M potassium hydroxide solution at 60 °C for 120 h .The fuel cell performance with the final AAEM obtained in a H₂/O₂ single fuel cell at 40 °C with this AAEM was 48 mW cm⁻² at a current density of 69 mA cm⁻².     

Synthesis and electrochemical properties of blend membranes of polysulfone and poly (acrylic acid-co-2-(2-(piperazin-1-yl) ethylamino)-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

In this work, new piperazine containing copolymer membrane was developed from acrylic acid and 2-(2-(piperazin-1-yl)ethylamino)-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate through free radical polymerization method by means of AIBN as an initiator, in bulk. The monomer feed ratio was varied to obtain various copolymers having a different composition. The developed copolymer was blended in polysulfone (PSF) at 3 and 6 wt% using N,N′-Dimethylformamide solvent. The FTIR spectra and 1H NMR spectral data have proved the presence of copolymer that has hydrophilic functional group which influences the better proton conductivity. The membranes were characterized by their morphology using scanning electron microscope and x-ray diffraction analysis. The hydrophilic nature of the membranes is proved through high water uptake ratio. The exchangeable proton at the carboxylic acid group has enhanced the high ion exchange capacity. The blend membranes have higher water uptake, low swelling rate and higher ion exchange capacity than that of neat PSF membrane. The fabrication of fuel cell and studies on proton exchange capacity indicates that the prepared membranes have proton conductivity of as high as 8.77 × 10^?4 S cm^?1. Low methanol crossover was obtained about 2.112 × 10^?6 cm²s^?1 when compared to the pristine membrane.     

Poly(benzimidazole)-epoxide crosslink membranes for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The crosslinked polybenzimidazole (PBI) proton exchange membrane is prepared by blending the epoxy (diglycidyl ether bisphenol-A) resin in the PBI with an imidazole-NH/epoxide Eqv. no. ratio ranging from 20/1 to 6/1. We show that the mechanical properties of the PBI membrane are improved by introducing a small quantity of crosslinks in the membranes (i.e., an imidazole-NH/epoxide Eqv. no. ratio of 15/1-10/1). Due to its high mechanical strength, the thinner crosslinked PBI membrane (thickness ∼50 μm) has a similar H₂/O₂ gas barrier property to the thicker PBI membrane (thickness ∼80 μm). Thus, the proton transport resistance across the membrane thickness direction of the thinner crosslinked PBI membrane is lower than that of the thicker non-crosslinked PBI membrane. We show that the crosslinked PBI membrane has a better fuel cell performance than the non-crosslinked PBI membrane at 160 °C with a non-humidified H₂ gas.     

Effects of anodic gas conditions on performance and resistance of a PBI/H3PO4 proton exchange membrane fuel cell with metallic bipolar plates

In this study, polybenzimidazole (PBI) is used as membrane material of the high-temperature membrane electrode assembly which has the features of high-performance stability and high CO tolerance. Moreover, compared to graphite bipolar plates, metallic bipolar plates have better mechanical properties and seismic capacity, as well as lighter weight. We thus use metallic bipolar plates and a PBI-based membrane electrode assembly to setup a single cell and examine its performance. The experimental results show that the cell temperature has a significant effect on the cell performance. When the temperature increases from 120 °C to 180 °C, the performance is significantly enhanced. Moreover, the CO tolerance of the fuel cell increases along with the temperature. At the same time, methane is fed in the anode stream to assess the performance of the cell under different simulated methane reformate gases. The test of various CH₄/H₂ mixtures reveals the residual methane in the reformate gases only decreases fuel cell performance slightly due to the dilution effect. We also examined H₂/CO/N₂/CH₄ mixtures in this study, and these had only a small effect on the fuel cell performance at cell temperatures higher than 160 °C. As such, it is recommended that the cell temperature should be kept higher than 160 °C.     

Preparation of PVdF/PSSA composite membranes using supercritical carbon dioxide for direct methanol fuel cells

Composite membranes were prepared using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) impregnation and polymerization procedures and were optimized as electrolytes by controlling the amount of divinylbenzene (DVB) for polymerization. These poly(vinylidene fluoride)/polystyrene sulfonic acid (PVdF/PSSA) membranes were characterized by various methods. The cross-sectional superficial morphology and structure of the PVdF/PSSA membranes were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), FT-IR and small-angel X-ray scattering (SAXS). The ion exchange capacity (IEC), ion conductivity, methanol permeability and cell performance of PVdF/PSSA membranes were measured and compared with Nafion 115. As the concentration of added DVB increased, the ion conductivity and methanol permeability of the PVdF/PSSA membranes decreased. The PVdF/PSSA membrane containing 7.5 wt% DVB achieved 94% of the current density with Nafion 115.     

Copolymer synergistic coupling for chemical stability and improved gas barrier properties of a polymer electrolyte membrane for fuel cell applications

A novel radiation grafted ETFE based proton conducting membrane was prepared by double irradiation grafting of two different monomers. The intrinsic oxidative stability of the ETFE-g-poly(styrene sulfonic acid-co-divinylbenzene) membrane was improved by reducing the gas crossover through incorporation of polymethacrylonitrile (PMAN) containing the strong polar nitrile group. A fuel cell test was carried out at 80 °C under constant current density of 500 mA cm⁻² for a time exceeding 1′900 h. The incorporation of PMAN considerably improves the interfacial properties of the membrane-electrode assembly. No significant change in the membrane hydrogen crossover and performance over the testing time was observed, except for a measured decrease in the membrane ohmic resistance after 1′000 h. The combination of the double irradiation induced grafting with the use of the PMAN as gas barrier in addition to its chelating abilities (e. g. Ce³⁺) offers a promising strategy to develop more durable membranes for fuel cells.     

Enhancement of fuel cell properties in polyethersulfone and sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) membranes using metal oxide nanoparticles for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The proton exchange membrane (PEM) was synthesized using polyethersulfone (PES), sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) and nanoparticles. The metal oxide nanoparticles such as Fe₃O₄, TiO₂ and MoO₃ were added individually to the polymer blend (PES and SPEEK). The polymer composite membranes exhibit excellent features regarding water uptake, ion exchange capacity and proton conductivity than the pristine PES membrane. Since the presence of sulfonic acid groups provides by added SPEEK and the unique properties of inorganic nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄, TiO₂ and MoO₃) helps to interconnect the ionic domain by the absorption of more water molecules thereby enhance the conductivity value. The proton conductivity of PES, SPEEK, PES/SPEEK/Fe₃O₄, PES/SPEEK/TiO₂ and PES/SPEEK/MoO₃ membranes were 0.22 × 10^?4 S/cm, 5.18 × 10^?4 S/cm, 3.57 × 10^?4 S/cm, 4.57 × 10^?4 S/cm and 2.67 × 10^?4 S/cm respectively. Even though the blending of PES with SPEEK has reduced the conductivity value to a lesser extent, hydrophobic PES has vital role in reducing the solvent uptake, swelling ratio and improves hydrolytic stability. Glass transition temperature (T_g) of the membranes were determined from DSC thermogram and it satisfies the operating condition of fuel cell system which guarantees the thermal stability of the membrane for fuel cell application.     

Effects of mesoporous fillers on properties of polybenzimidazole composite membranes for high-temperature polymer fuel cells

In this study, we elucidated the effects of the addition of various mesoporous silicates (0–20 wt%) to the membranes used for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) on cell performance. Two types of polybenzimidazole (PBI)-based hybrid membranes were prepared by homogeneously dispersing a predetermined amount of MCM-41 or SBA-15 within the PBI matrix. Compared to the pure PBI membrane, those with MCM-41 and SBA-15 exhibited significantly enhanced phosphoric acid doping and better mechanical properties, leading to improved HT-PEMFC performance and reduced acid migration. However, the membranes with 20 wt% silicate showed inferior performance compared to those with 10 wt% silicate. In addition, the membranes with SBA-15 exhibited noticeable aggregation, lower phosphoric acid doping, and greater phosphoric acid migration during the leaching test than did the membranes with MCM-41. Finally, during the short-term durability test, the PBI/MCM-41 (10 wt%) membrane showed the best performance (maximum power density of 310  mW cm^?2).     

Crosslinked poly (isatin biphenyl spirofluorene) membranes for proton conduction over a wide temperature range from −40 to 160 °C

It is desired to develop proton exchange membranes (PEMs) working in a wide temperature range considering the practical working condition of devices using the PEMs as the electrolyte. Herein, a novel polymer of poly (isatin biphenyl spirofluorene) (PIBS) is first synthesized and it is afterwards crosslinked by 1,3-bis(4-piperidyl) propane (P) to fabricate membranes. The membranes can work in a temperature range of −40 to 160 °C after doping with phosphoric acid (PA). The proton conductivity of the PA doped membrane reaches 4.4 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at −40 °C under 80% relative humidity (RH) and 0.16 S cm⁻¹ at 160 °C without humidifying. We demonstrate the uses of the prepared PA doped PIBS-P membranes as membrane electrolytes in single fuel cells within 100–160 °C under anhydrous condition, and in water electrolytic cells within −20 to 60 °C, respectively.     

Dielectric behaviour of UV-crosslinked sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) with methyl cellulose (SPEEK-MC) as proton exchange membrane

Proton exchange membrane materials based on sulfonated poly ether ether ketone (SPEEK) with Methyl Cellulose (MC) are developed by solution cast technique and exposed to UV radiation with Bezoin Ethyl Ether (BEE) as photoinitiator. The addition of MC into SPEEK polymer enhances the conductivity up to 8.7 × 10^?3 Scm^?1 at 30 °C temperature and 80% relative humidity. This new crosslinked hybrid membrane shows good prospect for the use as proton exchange membrane in fuel cell.     

Novel polyolefin/silicon dioxide/H3PO4 composite membranes with spatially heterogeneous structure for phosphoric acid fuel cell

Novel composite membranes based on polyolefins for intermediate and high temperature (120–160 °C) phosphoric acid fuel cells with polymer matrices have been synthesized and their properties have been studied, including testing in operating fuel cells. In contrast to polybenzimidazoles uniformly swelling with H₃PO₄, which are typically used as membrane-separators in such a type of fuel cells, the proposed materials have heterogeneous internal structure with spatially separated condensed bundles of non-swelling rigid polymer-silica composite matrix and proton-conducting channels filled with phosphoric acid. Such a heterogeneous structure may potentially provide improved balance between proton conductivity and mechanical stability of the membranes in comparison with the homogeneously swollen PBI structures. The composite porous films based on polyethylene and polypropylene have been prepared in several different ways and filled with network of silicon dioxide. The SiO₂ phase forms hydrophilic three-dimensional well-percolated channels. The affinity between the SiO₂ phase and the liquid phosphoric acid is responsible for capillary retention of the liquid electrolyte in the porous matrix (phosphoric acid wets SiO₂ surface). Besides, the framework of SiO₂ phase enhances the mechanical stability of the membranes at high temperatures. Maximum proton conductivity of 0.033 S/cm is achieved at 160 °C for fuel cell with the obtained polyethylene-based membrane. The best performance is detected for fuel cells on polypropylene-based membrane, which provides 0.5 V at 0.4 A/cm² at 140 °C being supplied with hydrogen and air. The proposed concept is aimed to mimic spatially-non-uniform Nafion-type membranes instead of using uniformly swollen polybenzimidazoles.