

FOLLOWUS
a.State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center for Nano Energy Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University and Shaanxi Joint Laboratory of Graphene (NPU), Shaanxi Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Xi’an 710072, China
b.The Northwest Research Institute of Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., Xi’an 710061, China
c.Engineering Research Center of Energy Storage Materials and Devices Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
jinlunwu@mail.xjtu.edu.cn (J.L.W.)
DQ13720446888@126.com (Q.D.)
feixu@nwpu.edu.cn (F.X.)
Received:24 December 2025,
Accepted:01 March 2026,
Online First:16 April 2026,
Published:05 May 2026
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Ban, M. H.; Wu, J. L.; Han, Y. M.; Yang, A. P.; Ding, Q.; Xu, F. Covalent organic frameworks modified composite proton exchange membranes towards advanced fuel cells. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3638-1
Miao-Han Ban, Jin-Lun Wu, Yi-Meng Han, et al. Covalent Organic Frameworks Modified Composite Proton Exchange Membranes towards Advanced Fuel Cells[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 441-20.
Ban, M. H.; Wu, J. L.; Han, Y. M.; Yang, A. P.; Ding, Q.; Xu, F. Covalent organic frameworks modified composite proton exchange membranes towards advanced fuel cells. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3638-1 DOI:
Miao-Han Ban, Jin-Lun Wu, Yi-Meng Han, et al. Covalent Organic Frameworks Modified Composite Proton Exchange Membranes towards Advanced Fuel Cells[J/OL]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 441-20. DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3638-1.
The urgent global demand for clean energy has positioned proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) as a pivotal technology owing to their high efficiency and environmental friendliness. Their performance critically relies on the proton exchange membranes (PEMs). Recently
integrating covalent organic frameworks (COFs) into conventional proton-conducting polymers has gained increasing
as this strategy is expected to combine the structural advantages of COFs with polymer flexibility to develop advanced PEMs. This review briefly outlines the current types of PEMs and the COF design for proton conducting. Then the fabrication strategies and evaluation methods are introduced. The design of COF-modified Nafion and sulfonated polyetheretherketone (SPEEK) for low-humidity proton conduction
as well as COF-modified polybenzimidazole (PBI) for high-temperature proton conduction were summarized
with particular emphasis on COFs forming continuous “proton highways” within polymer matrices for enhanced conduction while leveraging molecular sieving to suppress fuel crossover and thus improve cell efficiency and safety. Finally
critical challenges and outlook of COF-modified PEMs are discussed
such as interfacial compatibility
COF agglomeration
and the long-term stability and scalability under harsh conditions
which severely hinder the practical applications. Potential solutions are proposed
including
in situ
growth
hierarchical pore design
and gradient doping
to improve interfacial compatibility while maintaining excellent mechanical properties
as well as the development of intelligent and multifunctional PEMs.
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