Fabrication and development of SPEEK/PVdF-HFP/SiO2 proton exchange membrane for microbial fuel cell application

•This study showed the proton exchange potential of SPEEK/PVDF-HFP/SiO2 fabricated membrane.•All the physical, chemical and electrochemical characterizations showed a significant compatibility and improved result as compared to other conventional PEM.•The maximum proton conductivity of 8.0 × 10−2 Scm−1, voltage generation of 998.5 ± 2 mV and power density of 1.5 mW/m2 were noticed for the 7.5 wt.% SiO2 incorporated polymer membrane.•The fabricated membrane was applied and analyzed in MFC for practical study.•The more study on this combination of composite could be a solution for an alternative PEM for MFC study.