Preparation and study on H–MoS2/SLS modified SPI@SPEEK blend proton exchange membrane with balanced proton conductivity and stability

Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) are the core components of fuel cells, and research has long focused on how to balance their proton conductivity and durability. In this work, a series of homogeneous blend of sulfonated polyimide (SPI) and sulfonated polyether ether ketone (SPEEK) hybrid membranes with were constructed refined with sulfonated MoS2 (H–MoS2) and sodium lignosulfonate (SLS). The results showed that the tensile strength of the films was enhanced by 39.4% (67.84 MPa) compared to the base film. The composite films incorporating 1 wt% H-MoS2 and 2 wt% SLS has excellent proton conductivity, which can reach 50.24 mS/cm at 80°C and 100% humidity. The embed hybrid structure constructed by H–MoS2 and SLS, which not only effectively solves the limitations of the proton transport channel of traditional polymer materials, but also provides abundant proton transport sites, which provides a new strategy for preparing high-performance PEM.