Proton-Conducting Graphene Membrane Electrode Assemblyfor High Performance Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Graphene oxide (GO) contains randomly distributed non-conductive sp3-C domains with planar acidity making it simultaneously an electrical insulator and a proton conductor. GO’s ability for in plane and through plane cationic transport together with its impermeability to molecular fuels projected them as inexpensive and sustainable membranes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Nevertheless, the room temperature proton transport in bulk GO is at least an order lower than that of state of the art Nafion membrane, challenging the construction of a practical energy conversion device with the former. We show that the proton flux in GO along the H-bonded network projected outward the carbon planes can be significantly amplified by thinning the 2D-carbon layer stacking of carbon nanosheets in GO. The noticeably higher room temperature fuel cell performance metrics of thin layer GO proton conductor compared to commercial Nafion membrane with ∽410 mW/cm2 of peak power density at ∽1300 mA/cm2 of peak cu...