Protic organic ionic plastic crystals as next-generation solid state proton conductors

Proton conductors are electrolytes that have protons as the primary charge carriers. They are important materials for many technological innovations such as fuel cells, sensors, batteries and membrane reactors. Particularly, they are key materials for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), which are promising power sources for automobile and stationary applications due to their high energy conversion efficiencies and low emissions. In this project, protic organic ionic plastic crystals (POIPCs) as novel solid state proton conductors are intended to be developed for high temperature PEMFCs.