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An inorganic filler prepared by impregnation of phosphotungstic heteropolyacid on zirconia (HPW/Zr) was developed to be inserted into a perfluorosulphonic polymer matrix for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) operating at a medium temperature (80–120 °C) and low relative humidity (RH). Two different phosphotungstic acid (PWA) loadings (30 and 45% w/w) were anchored on a nanopowdered ZrO2. Such compounds were characterised by different techniques: differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X‐ray analysis (EDX) and porosity and surface area by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), to verify the introduction and anchorage of PWA on ZrO2. Two composite Nafion membranes were prepared and characterised in terms of chemical–physical characteristics and electrochemical tests. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) provided evidence that HPW/Zr had been incorporated into composite membranes and it was not eluted. A good proton conductivity of about 6 × 10–3 S cm–1 at 120 °C and 25% RH was recorded.Accelerated in situ ageing tests highlighted a good electrochemical stability (more than 150 cycles at 90 °C with dry gases) of the composite membranes with a slow decay and a reasonable integrity of the analysed membrane‐electrodes assembly (MEA). Finally, a post‐mortem SEM–EDX analysis on MEAs confirmed the presence of HPW/Zr in the membrane after the in situ testing.

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