High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Research Articles

Poly(benzimidazole)s containing trifluoromethyl substituents and aryl ether linkages for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell applications

Poly(benzimidazole)s containing trifluoromethyl substituents and aryl ether linkages for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell applications

Enhancing Performance and Stability of High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membranes through Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Incorporation into Self-Cross-Linked Fluorenone-Containing Polybenzimidazole.

Addressing critical challenges in enhancing the oxidative stability and proton conductivity of high-temperature proton exchange membranes (HT-PEMs) is pivotal for their commercial viability. This study uncovers the significant capacity of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) to absorb a substantial amount of phosphoric acid (PA). The investigation focuses on incorporating long-range ordered hollow MWNTs into self-cross-linked fluorenone-containing polybenzimidazole (FPBI) membranes. The absorbed PA within MWNTs and FPBI forms dense PA networks within the membrane, effectively enhancing the proton conductivity. Moreover, the exceptional inertness of MWNTs plays a vital role in reinforcing the oxidation resistance of the composite membranes. The proton conductivity of the 1.5% CNT-FPBI membrane is measured at 0.0817 S cm-1 at 160 °C. Under anhydrous conditions at the same temperature, the power density of the 1.5% CNT-FPBI membrane reaches 831.3 mW cm-2. Notably, the power density remains stable even after 200 h of oxidation testing and 250 h of operational stability in a single cell. The achieved power density and long-term stability of the 1.5% CNT-FPBI membrane surpass the recently reported results. This study introduces a straightforward approach for the systematic design of high-performance and robust composite HT-PEMs for fuel cells.

The effect of nitrogen positive sites on the proton conductivity and acid stability of polybenzimidazole-based proton exchange membranes

High-temperature proton exchange membranes (HT-PEMs) based on amino-type polybenzimidazole (AmPBI) and double-bonded ionic liquids (ILs) are prepared. To prevent leakage of ILs, three kinds of polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) with different nitrogen positive sites are synthesized through in-situ free radical polymerization, and then the AmPBI-PIL membranes are prepared. The ion pairs (N+ - H2PO4−) formed after treatment with KOH and PA have a good effect on both proton conductivity and PA retention. After acid doping, the nitrogen positive sites in the PILs form ion pairs with PA, which serves as a jumping site for protons and promotes proton transport. The excellent proton conductivity and PA remaining of the AmPBI-PIL membranes are noteworthy. In particular, the proton conductivity of AmPBI-CTDTr is as high as 184.9 mS cm−1 at 180 °C, and the acid reservation is 83 % at 160 °C after 240 h. AmPBI-CTDTr has a 550.9 mW cm−2 peak power density when it is anhydrous at 160 °C.

Tetramethyl poly(aryl ether ketone) modified by DABCO cationic polymer for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Rationally constructing proton transport channel within high temperature proton exchange membranes (HT-PEMs) plays a critical role in lowering the mass transfer resistance and thus improving the performance of HT-PEM fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs). We herein designed a microphase-separated structure to promote proton transmitting by incorporating 1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) cationic polymer into tetramethyl poly(aryl ether ketone) (TMPAEK). The flexible and cationic segments afforded a polarity difference from TMPAEK, resulting in easier phosphoric acid adsorption. High proton conductivity of 135 mS cm−1 was obtained under anhydrous conditions at 150 °C. Besides, the hydrophilic domains that containing N-heterocycle could stabilize phosphoric acid through hydrogen bonding interactions, resulting in high phosphoric acid retention of ∼80 % after 288 h test. A Peak power density of 496 mW cm−2 was achieved in non-humidified H2/O2 without back pressure at 140 °C, which was higher than that of m-PBI under the same conditions. This work not only paved a way to tailor the ion conductivity of membrane, but also provided a highly competitive membrane for HT-PEMFCs.

Polymers of intrinsic microporosity with alkaline pyrrolidine and piperidine functional groups for high-temperature proton exchange membranes

Recently, the polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) exhibit good potential in high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) due to their tunable microporosity and functionality. In this paper, alkaline pyrrolidine and piperidine functional groups were introduced onto PIM-1 via the classical Mannich reaction obtaining PIM-1/PIM-Py-50 and PIM-1/PIM-MePi-50. It was found that, compared with commercial Meta-polybenzimidazole (m-PBI) membrane, PIMs membranes showed superior retention of phosphoric acid (PA) and conductivity due to their grafting alkaline groups and rich micropores. After equilibration under 80 °C/40% relative humidity (RH) for 150 h, the PA retention of PA doped PIM-1/PIM-Py-50 (PIM-1/PIM-Py-50/PA) and PA doped PIM-1/PIM-MePi-50 (PIM-1/PIM-MePi-50/PA) membranes were 74.13% and 68.52%, respectively, much higher than PA doped m-PBI (m-PBI/PA) (45.73%). PIMs membranes maintain excellent dimensional and conductivity stability at 160 °C operating conditions, e.g. PIM-1/PIM-Py-50/PA membrane showed area swelling retention and volume swelling retention of 84.69% and 82.19% after 230 h at 160 °C. In addition, with the similar PA uptake, PIMs membranes displayed higher conductivity and peak power density (PPD) at 160 °C. In the accelerated stress test (AST) the PPD of the fuel cell (FC) with the PIM-1/PIM-Py-50/PA membrane remained 81.25% after 200 aggressive start-up/shut-down cycles at 80 °C. Therefore, PIM-based membranes alkaline groups exhibit a wider temperature operating window, providing theoretical guidance for the design and study of the next generation of high-temperature proton exchange membranes (HT-PEMs).

Performance enhancements of power density and exergy efficiency for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell based on RSM-NSGA III

In this study, a three-dimensional simulation model was developed and a multi-objective optimization of a single-channel high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was carried out by the response surface methodology (RSM) and the non-dominated genetic algorithm III (NSGA III). Firstly, five main influencing factors including operating temperature (T), operating pressure (p), gas diffusion layer porosity (εGDL), proton exchange membrane (PEM) thickness (Mmem) and anode stoichiometry ratio (λa) were identified. The optimization objectives include three cell performance evaluation indexes: power density (wpow), system efficiency (ηsystem), and exergy efficiency (ηexergy). Secondly, the prediction accuracies of the RSM and artificial neural network (ANN) for the three performance evaluation indexes of high-temperature PEMFC were compared. Finally, the optimal solution from the Pareto solutions derived through RSM-NSGA III. The results show that the maximum wpow, maximum ηsystem and maximum ηexergy are 0.793 W⋅cm−2, 22.31% and 54.69%, respectively. The optimal result obtained by combining EWM and VIKOR is wpow = 0.6726 W⋅cm−2, ηsystem = 19.44% and ηexergy = 54.01%, respectively. The corresponding condition is T = 447.18 K, p = 1.15 atm, εGDL = 0.617, Mmem = 0.0412 mm, and λa = 1.26, respectively. Moreover, the suggestions are provided for the design of more efficient high-temperature PEMFC.

Data-driven diagnosis of high temperature PEM fuel cells based on the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy: Robustness improvement and evaluation

Utilizing machine learning techniques for data-driven diagnosis of high temperature PEM fuel cells is beneficial and meaningful to the system durability. Nevertheless, ensuring the robustness of diagnosis remains a critical and challenging task in real application. To enhance the robustness of diagnosis and achieve a more thorough evaluation of diagnostic performance, a robust diagnostic procedure based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and a new method for evaluation of the diagnosis robustness was proposed and investigated in this work. To improve the diagnosis robustness: (1) the degradation mechanism of different faults in the high temperature PEM fuel cell was first analyzed via the distribution of relaxation time of EIS to determine the equivalent circuit model (ECM) with better interpretability, simplicity and accuracy; (2) the feature extraction was implemented on the identified parameters of the ECM and extra attention was paid to distinguishing between the long-term normal degradation and other faults; (3) a Siamese Network was adopted to get features with higher robustness in a new embedding. The diagnosis was conducted using 6 classic classification algorithms—support vector machine (SVM), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), logistic regression (LR), decision tree (DT), random forest (RF), and Naive Bayes employing a dataset comprising a total of 1935 collected EIS. To evaluate the robustness of trained models: (1) different levels of errors were added to the features for performance evaluation; (2) a robustness coefficient (Roubust_C) was defined for a quantified and explicit evaluation of the diagnosis robustness. The diagnostic models employing the proposed feature extraction method can not only achieve the higher performance of around 100% but also higher robustness for diagnosis models. Despite the initial performance being similar, the KNN demonstrated a superior robustness after feature selection and re-embedding by triplet-loss method, which suggests the necessity of robustness evaluation for the machine learning models and the effectiveness of the defined robustness coefficient. This work hopes to give new insights tothe robust diagnosis ofhigh temperature PEM fuel cells andmore comprehensive performance evaluation of the data-drivenmethod fordiagnosticapplication.

The strategy of micropore confinement via organic macrocyclic cavities for designing novel high-performance proton exchange membranes

The high-temperature hydrogen proton exchange membrane fuel cell is considered a disruptive technology for future energy applications. However, the weak binding strength between the proton carriers (phosphoric acid molecules) with polymer chains reduces the operational stability and proton transfer efficiency at conditions of high temperature and low humidity. In this work, a strategy of micropore confinement via organic macrocyclic cavities (sulfonic calix[4]arenes, sulfonic calix[8]arenes, sulfonated β-cyclodextrin) was developed for designing novel mixed matrix membranes functioning as high-temperature hydrogen proton exchange membranes. Benefitting from the confined micropores constructed by supramolecular cavities, the obtained mixed matrix membranes showed a higher uptake and retention capability of phosphoric acid as well as lower membrane swelling, yielding an enhanced proton conductivity. The proton conductivity of the mixed matrix membranes was 2–3 times higher while the conductivity attenuation was only 58.6% comparing with neat PBI membrane, (140℃, relative humidity = 0). In addition, due to the good compatibility caused by hydrogen bonding between fillers and polymer chains, the volume swelling was only 14% and the mechanical strength of the obtained mixed matrix membranes increased. We believe the strategy of micropore confinement via organic macrocyclic cavities for designing the novel mixed matrix membranes is thought to be of great significance for the research on high-temperature proton exchange membrane.

Novel high temperature proton exchange membranes based on functionalized poly(arylene dimethylamino benzene) polymers

The electrolyte membrane is a critical component in high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs). We have developed a new triarylmethane-backboned polymer, poly(p-triphenyl dimethylamino benzene) (PTDB), by using p-triphenyl and 4-(dimethylamino)benzaldehyde as monomers through a one-step straightforward Friedel-Crafts reaction. The presence of tertiary amine groups in PTDB enables strong interaction with phosphoric acid (PA) molecules. To improve PA doping content and proton conductivity, both copolymers containing biphenyl repeat unite and side-chain quaternized polymers are synthesized. Results show that the 3-bromopropyl trimethylammonium bromide grafted membrane (PTDB-QA) outperforms the poly(triphenyl-biphenyl-dimethylamino benzaldehyde) (P(Tx%-By%-DB)) copolymer membranes. After being doped in an 85 wt% PA solution at 80 °C, the PTDB-QA membrane exhibits a PA uptake of 160%, resulting in an anhydrous proton conductivity of 0.054 S cm−1 at 180 °C and mechanical strength of 10.1 MPa at room temperature. Under the H2-air condition without any back pressure, the peak power density of a single cell based on PTDB-QA/160%PA reaches 230 mW cm−2 at 160 °C. This work presents a promising new membrane for HT-PEMFC applications.

Acid doped branched poly(biphenyl pyridine) membranes for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells and vanadium redox flow batteries

Both high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) and vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) are represented as two advanced energy conversion and energy storage devices. They have a same core component of the separator membrane, which still faces several intractable scientific and industrial issues. For HT-PEMFC, the increase in conductivity is normally as the expense of mechanical strength; while for VRFB, the improvement in proton transport always brings in serious vanadium ion crossover. Meanwhile, the membrane also should possess an excellent chemical stability towards the attack by radicals or high valence vanadium ions. The above questions can be well solved by the preparation of triphenylbenzene (TPB) branched poly(biphenyl-4-acetylpyridine) membranes (x%TPB-PBAP), which are synthesized by one-step Friedel-Crafts polymerization. Amounts of alkaline pyridine groups equip x%TPB-PBAP membranes with good phosphoric acid and sulfonic acid absorption capability, resulting in high proton conductivity in both HT-PEMFC and VRFB. Meanwhile, the construction of the branched structure, i.e. a kind of covalently crosslinked network, can improve the mechanical strength and chemical stability. Consequently, the 1.5 %TPB-PBAP membrane displays large potential in both HT-PEMFC and VRFB. A single H2-O2 cell based on the 1.5 %TPB-PBAP/263 %PA membrane shows a peak power density of 1010 mW cm−2 at 180 °C without any back pressure. Meanwhile, the VRFB based on above membrane also depicts better battery efficiencies and cycle durability than that with Nafion 212.

Poly(phenylene oxide) cross-linked with polybenzimidazole for the applications of high-temperature proton-exchange membrane fuel cells

A series of imidazolium-functionalized poly(phenylene oxide) (QPPO) cross-linked with polybenzimidazole (PBI) (cQPPOx-PBI) membranes were prepared. Compared to the pure PBI membrane without a cross-linked structure nor imidazolium groups, the cQPPOx-PBI membranes showed enhanced toughness, phosphoric acid (PA) retention, and chemical stability. The cQPPOx-PBI membranes showed a enhanced PA uptake than that of PBI membranes, and the cQPPO35-PBI membrane achieves a high conductivity of 139 mS cm−1 at 160 °C, which is much higher than that of PBI membrane under the same conditions (26 mS cm−1). The performance of the single fuel cell assembled with the obtained membranes showed a similar trend as their conductivity, and the cell with cQPPO35-PBI showed a maximum power density of 344 mW cm−2 at 140 °C, while the value for PBI membrane was only 175 mW cm−2 under the same conditions. Herein, a straightforward method was developed for introducing imidazolium groups and cross-linked structures, which can be employed to prepare PEMs with enhanced performance for HT-PEMFCs application.

Tri-generation design and analysis of methanol-reforming high-temperature fuel cell based on double-effect absorption cooling power cycle

The methanol-reforming based high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells is promising in both stationary and mobile applications, due to the trade-off between the efficiency and durability. However, challenges arise in the system integration due to the coupling of various-grade heat flows. Additionally, the exiting waste heat recovery systems face thermal-electric coupling issues, leading to limited flexibility in the energy supply. To this end, a thermally coupled tri-generation system based on methanol-reforming high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell and double-effect absorption cooling power cycle is proposed. The cooling oil cycle absorbs heat from the fuel cell stack and burner, supplying heat for the preheaters, methanol reformer and double-effect absorption cooling power cycle. The cooling and power outputs of the double-effect absorption cooling power cycle are flexibly adjusted by varying the vapor split ratio. The mathematical models are developed and validated, based on which the exergy, exergoeconomic, economic and environmental performances are investigated. Under the design conditions, the tri-generation system yields net power, cooling, and hot water of 102.8 kW, 64.75 kW, and 43.83 kW, respectively, with exergy efficiency of 39.0% and unit exergoeconomic cost of product exergy of 65.09 $/GJ. The economic and environmental analyses indicate that, compared to the conventional system, a 54.2% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is achieved, and the payback periods stand at 4.0, 5.6 and 9.0 years for the methanol prices of 0.40, 0.45 and 0.50 $/kg, respectively.

Perspectives on Membrane Development for High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Perspectives on Membrane Development for High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

A novel thermally integrated high-temperature PEM fuel cell and absorption system for sustainable heating/cooling application

A new configuration of a high-temperature PEM (Proton exchange membrane) fuel cell coupled with a double-effect absorption system is proposed and investigated in detail. The present paper proposes a high-temperature PEM fuel cell energy system operating in dual modes, i.e., (i) as an absorption refrigerator and (ii) as an absorption heat pump. Thermodynamic coupling is carried out to meet the cooling and heating requirements during the summer and winter seasons, respectively. Energy and exergy-based investigations are performed for the proposed integrated system. The thermodynamic results show that the efficiency of the combined system in the chiller mode can be increased to 68.6% for the fuel cell work output of 162 kW. On the other hand, for the heat pump mode, the energy efficiency of 83.46% can be obtained at current density and operating temperature of 0.8 A/cm2 and 150 °C, respectively. The cooling and heating output obtained during the summer and winter seasons are 205.6 kW and 285.5 kW, respectively. A parametric study of the system is carried out for the dual-mode operation from an energy and exergy point of view. For summer and winter seasons, the influence of key operating parameters such as current density, evaporator, and fuel cell temperature on the system performance is presented. It was reported that the evaporator temperature positively affects the system's energy efficiency.

Mechanically strengthened polybenzimidazole membrane via a two-step crosslinking strategy for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell

To simultaneously increase the mechanical strength and proton conductivity of Phosphoric acid-doped polybenzimidazole (PA-PBI), a facile two-step crosslinking approach is proposed to prepare the imidazole-rich crosslinked polybenzimidazole membranes for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) in this work. Unlike the classic crosslinking approaches that usually enhance mechanical strength of membrane but lead to a decrease of proton conductivity, the mechanical strength of two-step crosslinked membrane improves from 3.93 MPa to 9.62 MPa and proton conductivity increases from 91 mS cm−1 to 183 mS cm−1 at 200 °C compared with pristine OPBI membrane. The promotion should be ascribed to the introduction of PA-affinity sites on crosslinkers and the formation of homogeneous crosslinking networks. Meanwhile, due to the crosslinked networks, the oxidative and dimensional stability of crosslinked membranes are also promoted. In addition, the two-step cross-linking method can avoid the self-reaction between cross-linking agents, thereby obtaining a more uniform cross-linking network, which is of great significance for the use of fuel cells. When the membranes are used in a fuel cells, they exhibited a maximum power density of 448.8 mW cm−2 at 160 °C (H2/Air, without humidification.).

Covalently crosslinked poly(biphenyl dimethylamino benzene) membranes for high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The electrolyte membrane plays a pivotal role in high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs). Herein, we develops a new triarylmethane-backboned polymer, poly (biphenyl dimethylamino benzene) (PBDAB), synthesized through a facile one-step Friedel-Crafts reaction using biphenyl and 4-(dimethylamino) benzaldehyde as monomers. The presence of tertiary amine groups in PBDAB facilitates strong interactions with phosphoric acid (PA) molecules. To enhance the membrane's dimensional and mechanical stabilities, covalent crosslinking is performed via the Menshutkin reaction between the tertiary amine groups in PBDAB and chloromethyl groups in various crosslinkers. In order to study the influence of crosslinker chemical structure on the properties of PBDAB-based membranes, five different crosslinkers are employed, including small-molecule types such as 1,2-bis(2-chloroethoxy) ethane (BCE) and 1,4-bis(chloromethyl) benzene (BCB), siloxane type 3-chloropropyl (trimethoxy) silane (CTS), polymer types such as poly (vinylbenzyl chloride) (PVBC) and polyepichlorohydrin (PECH). Results reveal that the flexible and ether containing polymer crosslinker of PECH crosslinked membrane, denoted as CL-y%PECH, exhibits superior overall performance. When doped in an 85 wt% PA solution, the CL-5%PECH membrane achieves a PA uptake of 201%, resulting in an anhydrous proton conductivity of 0.064 S cm−1 at 180 °C and a mechanical strength of 7.2 MPa at room temperature. Using H2 and O2 as fed gases without humidification and backpressure, a single cell with abovementioned membrane attains a peak power density of 302 mW cm−2 at 160 °C. This work offers a kind of promising PBDAB based membranes for HT-PEMFC applications.

Comprehensive performance assessment of a novel biomass-based CCHP system integrated with SOFC and HT-PEMFC

The combination of biomass gasification and fuel cell is a promising way to enhance the system energy efficiency and decrease the fossil fuel consumption. In this study, a new biomass-based combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system considering high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is proposed. Syngas from biomass gasifier is utilized by SOFC and HT-PEMFC for power generation, waste heat derived from SOFC and HT-PEMFC are recovered by ORC and absorption chiller for electricity and cooling production, respectively. Energetic, exergetic, economic and environmental investigations are performed to illustrate system comprehensive performances. The results demonstrated that power generation ratio of SOFC to HT-PEMFC is 2.32, exergy and energy efficiency of CCHP system are 25.06% and 49.48%, respectively. Levelized cost of production and CO2 emission rate of multi-products are 0.069$/(kW·h) and 0.673kg/(kW·h), respectively. Moreover, steam to biomass ratio and equivalent ratio show different effects on system performances due to the distinction of syngas composition. Operating temperature of SOFC has a great influence on system exergy and energy efficiency, with increasing by 11.18% and 16.97% respectively. In general, this novel system provides a new pathway for integrating biomass with different fuel cell technologies.

Operando synchrotron-based X-ray study and intervention approaches of graphene-related-materials for investigating the performance and durability of HT-PEMFC

The application of high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) addresses challenges in water management, fuel purity, and overheating under high current density. However, phosphoric acid (PA) migration hinders their development. This study uses synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to investigate PA and catalyst migration. Interventions with single-layer graphene and electrochemically exfoliated graphene oxide improve performance and durability. X-ray absorption spectroscopy provides insights into relevant mechanisms, advancing understanding of membrane electrode assembly preparation and the intricate influences of PA and catalyst migration on performance and durability in HT-PEMFCs.

Numerical investigation of parameter distributions in high-temperature PEMFCs under various cooling surface temperature gradients

Non-uniform current density distribution can lead to localized hotspots, resulting in shortened lifespans of fuel cells. The temperature distributions on the bipolar plate cooling surface significantly influence various parameters within a fuel cell. This study develops a mathematical model for a high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) to simulate its operation in four different directions of temperature gradient on the cooling surface. The distributions of membrane temperature, proton conductivity, oxygen concentration, activation loss, and current density were obtained to clarify the interaction mechanism between cooling surface temperature and these parameters in fuel cell. The results show that the membrane temperature and proton conductivity increase and the oxygen concentrations decrease with increasing cooling surface temperature. A lower temperature in the catalyst layer regions leads to a decrease in the current density. In particular, when the cooling surface temperature distribution is characterized by a temperature decrease in the upstream area with a high reactant concentration and an increase in the downstream area with a low reactant concentration, the fuel cell has an excellent current density uniformity, which reaches 92.61 % at a voltage of 0.6 V and a cooling surface temperature difference of 10 K.

High conductivity poly(meta-terphenyl alkylene)s proton exchange membranes for high temperature fuel cell

Phosphoric acid (PA)-doped membranes are regarded as a promising candidate for high temperature proton exchange membranes (HT-PEMs), but the trade-off between mechanical property and conductivity is a major problem limiting their application. Here, two poly(meta-terphenyl alkylene)s (m-TPNs), namely m-TPN-MeIm and m-TPN-TMA, are synthesized by 1-methylimidazole (MeIm) and trimethylamine (TMA) reacting with precursor polymer, respectively. The influence of different cationic groups on the properties of m-TPNs HT-PEMs is investigated in detail. m-TPNs diminish plastication of PA molecules on the mechanical property by separating the adsorption sites for PA molecules from the polymer backbone through long alkyl side chains. As a result, both m-TPN-MeIm and m-TPN-TMA membranes exhibit good mechanical property. Besides, m-TPN-TMA/PA surpasses m-TPN-MeIm/PA in most of aspects owing to the higher ion exchange capacity (IEC) and more distinct microphase separation structure. Noticeably, the proton conductivity of m-TPN-TMA/PA is as high as 0.191 S cm−1 and exhibits excellent stability over a testing time of 100 h at 160 °C thanks to the remarkable acid uptake and microphase separation structure. The m-TPN-TMA/PA-based single cell produces an impressive peak power density of 552 mW cm−2 at 200 °C. Therefore, this work offers a viable alternative for structure design to mitigate the trade-off effect of PA-doped HT-PEMs.