The Nature of Proton Shuttling in Protic Ionic Liquid Fuel Cells.

It has been proposed previously that protic ionic liquids (PILs) such as diethylmethylammonium triflate could be used as the electrolytes in nonhumidified, intermediate temperature H2 fuel cells, potentially offering the prospect of high conductivity and performance, even under anhydrous conditions. In this contribution, a combination of electroanalytical chemistry and fuel-cell polarization analyses is used to demonstrate for the first time that the pure PILs cannot support proton shuttling between the electrodes of fuel cells. Only through the inclusion of dissolved acidic or basic proton shuttles can viable protic ionic fuel cells be fabricated, which has major consequences for the use of these neoteric electrolytes in fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]