Exclusively Proton Conductive Membranes Based on Reduced Graphene Oxide Polymer Composites

Proton exchange membranes are in the heart of various technologies utilizing electrochemical storage of intermittent energy sources and powering electrical devices. Current state of the art membranes are based on perfluorosulfonic acid introduced more than a half century ago. Low specificity to protons accompanied by permeance by other species is one of the main impediment for various promising applications in green technologies that of the energy sustainable economy. Here we present composite membranes that are exclusively proton selective and do not allow crossover of any ionic or molecular species other than protons. Membranes have high proton conductivity, exceptional mechanical and chemical stability and thus may significantly improve performance of hydrogen-based technologies such as electrolyzers, various kinds of fuel cells and flow batteries in the future.