Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have received a considerable amount of attention in many areas of chemistry including organic synthesis, separations, and electrochemistry. They are stable over a large range of temperatures, have no discernable vapor pressure, and are conductive. Recently RTILs have shown promise in proton exchange membranes for use in hydrogen fuel cells when incorporated into a polymer. We have synthesized two novel water-immiscible RTILs, 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(perfluoroethylsulfonyl)imide and 1-dodecylimidazolium bis(perfluoroethylsulfonyl)imide for use as proton exchange membranes in hydrogen fuel cells. To our knowledge, this is the first time an RTIL has been used as a proton exchange membrane in a hydrogen fuel cell without the use of a polymer. This study provides new incite to the large range of applications that employ RTILs.

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