A Review on Bioinspired Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell: Design and Materials

Abstract

With the climate crisis gathering recognition, there has been significant interest in clean energy. As a reliable and clean energy solution, markets transitioning toward sustainable energy have identified polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) as a critical technology. The increasing interest in PEMFCs is primarily due to their high energy density, high efficiency and zero greenhouse gas emission. However, additional development is required to overcome the current barriers associated with fuel cell component design, high manufacturing cost, and insufficient stability. Bioinspired designs have the potential to provide new and valuable insights using novel techniques for extracting design inspirations from biological structures. Applying these design concepts to develop materials and structures for various fuel cell components can be transformative. The well‐adapted structures and functional features of biological systems have been proven to greatly enhance the performance of current designs through novel and optimized pathways. Bioinspired designs have indeed lived up to performance expectations and even exceed them. Herein, the potential and value of using these bioinspired designs are discussed. Recent studies and advancements based on nature‐inspired structures for components of PEMFCs and how these design considerations substantiate their claim as an attractive alternative to conventional designs are discussed.

Keywords

• bioinspired design and materials
• biomimetic approaches
• proton conductivity
• proton exchange membrane fuel cells
• water management