ABSTRACT

The importance of proton conductivity is enormous for biological systems and in devices such as electrochemical sensors, electrochemical reactors, electrochromic devices, and fuel cells. In the review, the phenomenon of proton conductivity in materials is discussed with a special emphasis on electrospinning as the fabrication method of proton exchange membranes (PEMs). In a fuel cell, PEMs have a profound influence on its performance. Many researchers have investigated the functionalization methods to solve the methanol crossover problem and to obtain low electronic conductivity, low electroosmotic drag coefficients, good mechanical properties, good chemical stability, good thermal stability, and high proton conductivity. The development and performance of high proton-conductive polymeric membrane, including electrospinning as the PEM fabrication method for fuel cells are discussed.