Monash researchers break barrier in membrane design

In what has been described as a breakthrough for renewable energy technologies, engineers from Monash University have developed an ultra-thin membrane that allows fuel cells to operate more efficiently at high temperatures. Their findings could expand the use of fuel cells in transport, heavy industry, and future clean energy systems.

Fuel cells convert chemical energy directly into electricity, producing water and heat as the main by-products. They are used in hydrogen-powered vehicles, back-up power systems for hospitals and data centres, and space missions where lightweight, reliable energy is essential.

However, most current systems rely on water-dependent membranes that limit performance at higher temperatures, where efficiency could otherwise improve and system design could be simplified. Unlike these existing systems, the Monash team’s membrane enables protons to be transported without water.

To achieve this, they used atomically thin nanosheets combined with nanoconfined phosphoric acid. While conventional nanosheet assemblies often suffer from poor proton transport between layers, limiting their practical use in electrochemical devices, the team’s specially engineered membrane made from graphene and boron nitride enabled ultra-fast proton transport at 250°C and delivered high power output in hydrogen fuel cells.

It also performed well when using concentrated methanol as a fuel, showing it can stay stable and efficient even under harsh, high-temperature conditions.

Monash University’s newly developed proton-conducting membrane. The integration of 2D nanosheets and nanoconfined phosphoric acid allows for stable, high-performance energy conversion in harsh environments.

Corresponding author Professor Huanting Wang, from the Monash Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, said the work addresses a longstanding barrier in membrane design for high-temperature electrochemical systems.

“By integrating proton-conducting nanosheets with nanoconfined phosphoric acid, we have created a membrane that maintains fast proton transport without relying on water. This enables fuel cells to operate efficiently at much higher temperatures than is currently possible,” Wang said.

The paper’s first author, Kaiqiang He, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, said the key advance lay in combining multiple proton transport mechanisms within a single membrane architecture.

“The nanosheets provide direct proton transport pathways, while the confined phosphoric acid enables rapid proton hopping. Together, these mechanisms deliver both high conductivity and stability under dry, high-temperature conditions,” He said.

Beyond fuel cells, the same design approach could support a range of electrochemical technologies, including water splitting, carbon dioxide reduction and ammonia synthesis. More broadly, it offers a platform for designing next-generation proton-conducting materials by integrating two-dimensional nanosheets with nanoconfined proton carriers.

The researchers’ work has been published in Science Advances.

Top image caption: Dr Kaiqiang He holds the new atomically thin membrane designed to supercharge the next generation of hydrogen fuel cells.