Enhancing Performance and Stability of High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membranes through Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Incorporation into Self-Cross-Linked Fluorenone-Containing Polybenzimidazole

Addressing critical challenges in enhancing the oxidative stability and proton conductivity of high-temperature proton exchange membranes (HT-PEMs) is pivotal for their commercial viability. This study uncovers the significant capacity of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) to absorb a substantial amount of phosphoric acid (PA). The investigation focuses on incorporating long-range ordered hollow MWNTs into self-cross-linked fluorenone-containing polybenzimidazole (FPBI) membranes. The absorbed PA within MWNTs and FPBI forms dense PA networks within the membrane, effectively enhancing the proton conductivity. Moreover, the exceptional inertness of MWNTs plays a vital role in reinforcing the oxidation resistance of the composite membranes. The proton conductivity of the 1.5% CNT-FPBI membrane is measured at 0.0817 S cm –1 at 160 °C. Under anhydrous conditions at the same temperature, the power density of the 1.5% CNT-FPBI membrane reaches 831.3 mW cm –2 . Notably, the power density remains stable even after 200 h of oxidation testing and 250 h of operational stability in a single cell. The achieved power density and long-term stability of the 1.5% CNT-FPBI membrane surpass the recently reported results. This study introduces a straightforward approach for the systematic design of high-performance and robust composite HT-PEMs for fuel cells.