Synergistic Conductivity Effect in a Proton Sources-Coupled Metal Organic Framework

A water-stable metal organic framework (MOF)-based composite, H2SO4@MIL-101-SO3H, configured with functionalized sulfonate groups bound to the polymeric backbone and nonvolatile strong acid H2SO4 encapsulated into pores, is demonstrated as a superior proton-conducting material, owing to the resultant multiple proton-transfer pathways. This solid material exhibits a superprotonic conductivity of 1.82 S cm(-1) (70 degrees C, 90% RH) that is comparable to that of other excellent MOF-based proton conductors reported thus far. More importantly, the splendid conductivity (0.92 X 10(-2) S cm(-1), 40 degrees C) of the title material achieves an enormous improvement compared with that of all proton conducting systems demonstrated at subzero temperatures.