Abstract Fine-tuning the nanochannels of ion conducting membrane is the key to achieving high performance electrochemical devices. Here, we describe an effective way to enhance the membrane performance using heterocyclic imidazole compound as an additive for Nafion. The hygroscopic nature of the imidazole offered sufficient amount of water molecules to the nanochannel of Nafion, affording wider and continuous nanochannel configuration, as characterized by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Moreover, proton conduction was boosted by the hydrogen bonding interaction between the water molecules and two nitrogen atoms on imidazole ring. The developed membrane showed improved proton conductivity up to 23% and 50% under high and low humidity condition, respectively, compared to pristine Nafion. Additionally, the membrane exhibited excellent stability under harsh condition. Finally, we implemented the developed membrane in fuel cell application and the cell showed enhanced power density without performance degradation, compared to that employing pristine Nafion membrane.

中文翻译：

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使用质子化咪唑用于高级离子导电膜促进质子传导

摘要 微调离子导电膜的纳米通道是实现高性能电化学装置的关键。在这里，我们描述了一种使用杂环咪唑化合物作为 Nafion 添加剂来提高膜性能的有效方法。咪唑的吸湿性为 Nafion 的纳米通道提供了足够数量的水分子，从而提供了更宽且连续的纳米通道配置，其特征在于小角 X 射线散射 (SAXS)。此外，水分子与咪唑环上的两个氮原子之间的氢键相互作用增强了质子传导。与原始 Nafion 相比，开发的膜在高湿度和低湿度条件下分别显示出高达 23% 和 50% 的质子传导率提高。此外，该膜在恶劣条件下表现出优异的稳定性。最后，我们在燃料电池应用中实施了开发的膜，与采用原始 Nafion 膜的电池相比，该电池显示出更高的功率密度而不会降低性能。