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Research Article | Open Access

Bioinspired supramolecular macrocycle hybrid membranes with enhanced proton conductivity

Pengfei Yang,§, Linlin Xu,§, Panagiotis Trogadas, Marc-Olivier Coppens, Yang Lan ( )
Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 7JE, UK

§ Pengfei Yang and Linlin Xu contributed equally to this work.

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Graphical Abstract

To enhance the proton conductivity of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) for broader applications in fuel cells, cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n]) are incorporated into a sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) matrix through a nature-inspired chemical engineering approach. The macrocyclic CB[n], acting as proton-conducting sites with carbonyl groups, interact with water molecules to create additional proton-conducting pathways. This strategy results in improved proton conductivity and fuel cell performance, paving the way for the development of continuous proton-conducting pathways in hybrid membranes using supramolecular macrocycles as electrolytes.

Abstract

Enhancing the proton conductivity of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) is essential to expand the applications of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Inspired by the proton conduction mechanism of bacteriorhodopsin, cucurbit[n]urils (CB[n], where n is the number of glycoluril units, n = 6, 7, or 8) are introduced into sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) matrix to fabricate hybrid PEMs, employing a nature-inspired chemical engineering (NICE) methodology. The carbonyl groups of CB[n] act as proton-conducting sites, while the host–guest interaction between CB[n] and water molecules offers extra proton-conducting pathways. Additionally, the molecular size of CB[n] aids in their dispersion within the SPEEK matrix, effectively bridging the unconnected proton-conducting sulfonic group domains within the SPEEK membrane. Consequently, all hybrid membranes exhibit significantly enhanced proton conductivity. Notably, the SPEEK membrane incorporating 1 wt.% CB[8] (CB[8]/SPEEK-1%) demonstrates the highest proton conductivity of 198.0 mS·cm−1 at 60 °C and 100% relative humidity (RH), which is 228% greater than that of the pure SPEEK membrane under the same conditions. Moreover, hybrid membranes exhibit superior fuel cell performance. The CB[8]/SPEEK-1% membrane achieves a maximum power density of 214 mW·cm−2, representing a 140% improvement over the pure SPEEK membrane (89 mW·cm−2) at 50 °C and 100% RH. These findings serve as a foundation for constructing continuous proton-conducting pathways within membranes by utilizing supramolecular macrocycles as fuel cell electrolytes and in other applications.

Keywords

fuel cellproton conductivitysupramolecular macrocycleproton exchange membranecucurbit[n]uril

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Nano Research
Volume 17 Issue 2,
February 2024
Pages 797-805
DOI: 10.1007/s12274-023-6009-z
Cite this article:
Yang P, Xu L, Trogadas P, et al. Bioinspired supramolecular macrocycle hybrid membranes with enhanced proton conductivity. Nano Research, 2024, 17(2): 797-805. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6009-z
Topics:
Films Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC)
Part of a topical collection:
NR45 Awards in Bio-inspired Nanomaterials, 2023

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Received: 15 May 2023
Revised: 09 July 2023
Accepted: 16 July 2023
Published: 19 August 2023
© The Author(s) 2023

Copyright: © 2023 by the author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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