POROUS NANO-FIBER MATS TO REINFORCE PROTON CONDUCTING MEMBRANES FOR PEM APPLICATIONS
A method of manufacturing a proton conducting fuel cell composite membrane includes the step of electrospinning a non-charged polymeric material, such as PVDF and PSF, into fiber mats. The fibers are fused to one another to provide a welded porous mat. The welded porous mat is filled with proton conducting electrolyte, such as PFSA polymer, to generate a proton conducting composite membrane. The resulting proton conducting fuel cell membrane comprises a randomly oriented, three dimensional interlinked fiber lattice structure filled with proton conducting electrolyte, such as PFSA polymer.