Preparation and characterization of Nafion/sPOSS polyelectrolyte nanocomposite membranes for direct methanol fuel cell applications

The synthesis of organic–inorganic polyelectrolyte nanocomposite membranes (PNMs) for fuel cell applications was demonstrated by use of the solvent casting method after mixing Nafion solutions with nanostructured sulfonated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (sPOSS) fillers. Nafion/sPOSS PNMs were prepared with a sPOSS content in the range of 0–10 wt%. It was found that both the proton conductivities and the methanol suppressing properties were improved by increasing the sPOSS content. Such improvements were correlated with changes in the Nafion cluster size by introducing inorganic sPOSS nanofillers.