| Abstract: | A series of novel hybrid sulfonated polynorbornene‐silica (PBN–SiO2) proton conducting membranes doped with different weight ratio of phosphotungstic acid (PWA) were prepared by the casting procedure. The proton conductivity of the composite membranes containing 40 wt.% PWA reached the maximum of 6.1 × 10–2 S cm–1 and increased gradually with PWA content and temperature elevating, while the methanol permeabilities (3.52–9.39 × 10–7 cm2 s–1) of these membranes were much lower than that of Nafion 117 (2.36 × 10–6 cm2 s–1). The membranes also exhibited excellent thermally stable and mechanical properties, which imply that the PBN–SiO2–PWA membranes are promising materials in the direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) applications. |
