Composite Membranes Based on SBA – 15 and SBA – 16 Evaluated at High Temperature and Low Relative Humidity Fuel Cell Conditions

Composite membranes containing mesoporous materials (SBA – 15 and SBA – 16) were tested under high temperature (140 °C) and low relative humidity (22.9 %) fuel cell operating conditions. SBA – 15 and 16 membranes showed better performance at high temperature (140 °C) and low relative humidity (22.9 %) than a commercial Nafion Membrane. SBA – 16 showed better performance (0.13 W cm-2) at high temperature (140 °C) and low relative humidity (22.9 %) than the SBA – 15 membrane (0.015 W cm-2). Cycle testing (1000 cycles) showed that the SBA – 15 membrane was more stable than the SBA – 16 membrane under extreme operating conditions (22.9 % RH and 120 °C). We suggest that this improvement is related to the water retention of the inorganic fillers due to the dipole - dipole interactions between water and the fillers. These new membranes are good candidates to replace commercial Nafion membranes.