State of the art and prospects in the development of proton-conducting perfluorinated membranes with short side chains: A review

The review is devoted to key problems in the development of modern proton-conducting membranes for hydrogen power assuming its progress for using in fuel cells working at enhanced temperatures without catalysts poisoning and providing stable high proton conductivity and improved mechanical properties. Modern trends in the synthesis approaches such as application of emulsion polymerization and novel efforts for the modification of polymer membranes by chemically stable nanoparticles, carrying protons, are discussed as compared to commercially used membrane materials such as Nafion and Aquivion. The crucial role of advanced structural methods to recognize subtle features of molecular ordering and formation of conducting channels in membranes is considered, focusing on neutron scattering as the most powerful instrument for the analysis of ionomers and other nanoscale structures by means of selective isotopic contrasting structural elements in membrane materials. The integration of novel methods of emulsion polymerization and use of nanodiamonds and other nanoparticles embedded into polymer matrices is prospective in the creation of new generations of membrane materials with higher functional properties.