Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) have triggered growing attention in energy-related applications due to their fundamental and technological significance. In this work, silica-based nanoscale ionic materials (NIMs-SiO₂) were synthesized and incorporated into sulfonated poly (ether-ether-ketone) (SPEEK) to prepare nanocomposite membranes. NIMs-SiO₂ could not only provide extra proton transfer sites, but also enhanced the hydrophilicity of the membranes, leading to decrease of the activation energy. The nano-scale size (7 nm) and the functional groups of the NIMs-SiO₂ lead to good interfacial adhesion with SPEEK, improving the mechanical properties of the membranes. Consequently, SPEEK/NIMs-SiO₂(5) exhibited the highest proton conductivity and peak power density, which were 1.92 and 1.51 folds higher than the pristine SPEEK membranes, respectively. The results showed the nanocomposite membranes had potential as alternative proton exchange membranes for corresponding devices.

质子交换膜（PEMs）由于其基础和技术意义，已经引起了与能源相关应用的越来越多的关注。在这项工作中，合成了基于二氧化硅的纳米级离子材料（NIMs-SiO ₂）并将其掺入磺化聚醚醚酮（SPEEK）中以制备纳米复合膜。NIMs-SiO ₂不仅可以提供额外的质子转移位点，而且可以增强膜的亲水性，从而降低活化能。NIMs-SiO ₂的纳米级尺寸（7 nm）和官能团导致与SPEEK的良好界面粘合，从而改善了膜的机械性能。因此，SPEEK / NIMs-SiO ₂（5）表现出最高的质子传导率和峰值功率密度，分别比原始SPEEK膜高1.92倍和1.51倍。结果表明，纳米复合膜具有作为相应装置的替代质子交换膜的潜力。