A highly anion-conductive porous polymer electrolyte membrane based on polybenzimidazole (PBI) was developed for alkaline fuel cells. The pores are introduced by leaching out the pore-forming agent (dibutyl phthalate), after making the membrane, comprised of it. The porosity increase the attraction of electrolytic solutions (e.g., potassium hydroxide), which results in the enhancement of plasticized PBI's ionic conductivity. The morphology, physico-chemical properties, thermal stability, and the hydroxide conductivity of the KOH-doped porous PBI membranes were characterized, using different spectroscopic and microscopic analysis methods. It was observed that the hydroxide conductivity of 70 wt.% porous PBI was 6 times higher than that of commercial FAA anion exchange membrane. The excellent performance of KOH-doped PBI makes it a promising membrane material for alkaline fuel cells.
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