However, with this new understanding, the Manchester researchers claim that a graphene-based membrane could be used for proton-conducting membranes (also known as proton exchange membranes), which are critical to the functioning of fuel cells by conducting protons through it while being impermeable to gases. It is this particular design of fuel cells—so-called polymer exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)—that the US Department of Energy has targeted as the most likely candidate for use in automobiles.
Up until now, the proton-conducting membranes of these fuel cells had been made from polymers that suffered from fuel crossover, which limited their efficiency and durability. The Manchester research suggest that graphene and hBN could be used to create a thinner membrane that would be more efficient while reducing fuel crossover and cell poisoning.
This application would be significant, but it is merely replacing one material with a 2D material to do essentially the same thing that is being done now. What may be the truly remarkable implication of this research is that the graphene membrane could be used to extract hydrogen out of humid air. The researchers believe that the membrane could be used in hydrogen production by extracting hydrogen from humid air to create a kind of mobile hydrogen generator.
