Advanced Journal of Chemistry, Section A
5.9(Q2)
CiteScore
31
h-index

Enhanced Proton Conductivity and Stability of Sulfonated Polystyrene-Based Nanocomposite Membranes Incorporating MIL-101(Cr) for Fuel Cell Applications

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

Valiollah Mnadanipour 1
Gholamreza Karimipour 2
Morteza Montazerozohori 2
Masoumeh Salehi 1, 2

1 Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Gonabad, Gonabad, Iran

2 Department of Chemistry, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran

https://doi.org/10.48309/ajca.2026.562929.1986
Abstract
The development of high-performance proton exchange membranes (PEMs) is crucial for improving the efficiency and durability of fuel cells. In this study, sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) was reinforced with different loadings of MIL-101(Cr) (2.5, 5, and 7.5 wt%), a highly porous metal–organic framework (MOF) with a specific surface area of 1,811.06 m² g⁻¹, to fabricate nanocomposite membranes via a solution-casting method. The incorporation of MIL-101(Cr) significantly enhanced key physicochemical and electrochemical properties of the membranes. Water uptake increased from 38.2% to 48.6%, while the ion exchange capacity (IEC) reached up to 0.95 meq g⁻¹ with increasing MOF content. The composite membranes exhibited excellent oxidative stability, retaining more than 97% of their original weight after exposure to Fenton’s reagent at 80 °C. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) revealed that proton conductivity increased with MIL-101(Cr) loading, reaching a maximum value of 0.0914 S cm⁻¹ at 80 °C and 60% relative humidity for the membrane containing 7.5 wt% MIL-101(Cr). In addition, methanol permeability remained in the order of 10⁻⁷ cm² s⁻¹, leading to a markedly improved selectivity factor compared to the MOF-free membrane. These results demonstrate that MIL-101(Cr)-based SPS nanocomposite membranes exhibit a well-balanced combination of high proton conductivity, low methanol crossover, and excellent oxidative stability, highlighting their strong potential for application in next-generation proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs).

Graphical Abstract

Enhanced Proton Conductivity and Stability of Sulfonated Polystyrene-Based Nanocomposite Membranes Incorporating MIL-101(Cr) for Fuel Cell Applications

Keywords

Proton exchange membrane
Fuel cell
Sulfonated polystyrene
Metal-organic framework
MIL-101(Cr)
Proton conductivity

Subjects

OPEN ACCESS

©2026 The author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

PUBLISHER NOTE

Sami Publishing Company remains neutral concerning jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

CURRENT PUBLISHER

Sami Publishing Company

[1] Olbrich, W., Kadyk, T., Sauter, U., Eikerling, M., Gostick, J. Structure and conductivity of ionomer in PEM fuel cell catalyst layers: a model-based analysis. Scientific Reports, 2023, 13(1), 14127.
[2] Tellez-Cruz, M.M., Escorihuela, J., Solorza-Feria, O., Compañ, V. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs): Advances and challenges. Polymers, 2021, 13(18), 3064.
[3] Tai, M.H., Thiam, H.S., Tee, S.F., Lim, Y.S., Saw, L.H., Lai, S.O. Self-healing sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone)-based polymer electrolyte membrane for direct methanol fuel cells: Effect of solvent content. Polymers, 2023, 15(24), 4641.
[4] Palanisamy, G., Thangarasu, S., Oh, T.H. Effect of sulfonated inorganic additives incorporated hybrid composite polymer membranes on enhancing the performance of microbial fuel cells. Polymers, 2023, 15(5), 1294.
[5] Mulijani, S., Dahlan, K., Wulanawati, A. Sulfonated polystyrene copolymer: synthesis, characterization and its application of membrane for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). International Journal of Materials, Mechanics and Manufacturing, 2014, 2(1), 36-40.
 [6] Pulungan, A.N. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell from sulfonated polystyrene and maleated natural rubber blend. Rasayan Journal of Chemistry , 2020, 13(2), 1112-1123.
[7] Segale, M., Seadira, T., Sigwadi, R., Mokrani, T., Summers, G. A new frontier towards development of efficient SPEEK polymer membranes for PEM fuel cells applications: A review. Materials Advances, 2024, 5, 7979-8006.
[8] Mandanipour, V., Sadeghi, M.M.R., Berenji, A.R. Decolorization of methylene blue from an aqueous solution using MIL-53 (Al)-(NH2) @ pani absorbent. Asian Journal of Green Chemistry, 2025, 9(1) 83-100.
[9] Namvar-Mahboub, M., Mandanipour, V. and Ahvaraki, M. MOF-incorporated PVDF adsorptive membrane for dye removal from aqueous solution. Emergent Materials, 2025, 8(1), 349-361.
[10] Rambabu, G.D., Bhat, S., Figueiredo, F.M. Carbon nanocomposite membrane electrolytes for direct methanol fuel cells—A concise review. Nanomaterials, 2019, 9(9), 1292.
[11] Ng, W.W., San Thiam, H., Pang, Y.L., Lim, Y.S., Wong, J., Saw, L.H.  Self-sustainable, self-healable sulfonated graphene oxide incorporated nafion/poly (vinyl alcohol) proton exchange membrane for direct methanol fuel cell applications. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2023, 11(6), 111151.
[12] Salim, E., Afrizal, A., Zilfadli, Z. Synthesis of Polystyrene Sulfonate and Its Characterization as a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane. Akta Kimia Indonesia, 2021, 6(2), 153-161.
[13] Al-Sabagh, A.M., Moustafa, Y.M., Hamdy, A., Killa, H.M., Ghanem, R.T.M., Morsi, R.E. Preparation and characterization of sulfonated polystyrene/magnetite nanocomposites for organic dye adsorption. Egyptian Journal of Petroleum, 2018, 27(3), 403-413.
[14] Dewi, C., Rahmawati, F., Pramono, E. Synthesis of sulfonated polystyrene from styrofoam waste as manufacturing material polymer electrolyte. In ITB Graduate School Conference, 2022, 2(1) 311-320.
[15] Mandanipour, V., Salehi, M., Karimipour, G., Vakili Azghandi, M., Berenji, A.R. Investigation of MIL-53 (Fe)-(COOH)2 as a filler in sulfonated polystyrene/polyethylene membrane for application in direct methanol fuel cell. Iranian Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 2023, 42(9), 2875-2885.
[16] Mandanipour, V., Karimipour, G., Montazerozohoori, M., Salehi, M. Enhanced performance of MIL-100(Cr)-COOH incorporated sulfonated polystyrene@Polyethylene membranes for direct methanol fuel cells. Journal of applied organometallic chemistry, 2026, 6(2), 288-303.
[17] Li, J.R., Sculley, J., Zhou, H.C. Metal–organic frameworks for separations. Chemical reviews, 2012, 112(2), 869-932.
[18] Zhao, Z., Nie, J., Huang, H., He, F., Wang, K., Yang, P. Experimental Study on the Adsorption Performance of Metal–Organic Framework MIL-101 (Cr) for Indoor Toluene. Buildings, 2025, 15(14), 2506.
Advanced Journal of Chemistry, Section A
Volume 9, Issue 6
June 2026
Pages 1192-1208

  • Receive Date 29 November 2025
  • Revise Date 02 January 2026
  • Accept Date 14 January 2026

Home

A-Z Journals

SPC Publisher's Policies

Indexing and Abstracting

Editorial Board

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Using and Citation

Contact Us