A new sulfonated SiO2 (S-SiO2) and sulfonated polystyrene ethylene butylene polystyrene (SSEBS) nanocomposite was used to fabricate a proton exchange membrane single chamber microbial fuel cells (SCMFCs). SSEBS containing various concentrations of S-SiO2 (2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10%) was prepared. The nanomaterials and nanocomposite membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The nanocomposite membranes were also examined for their ion exchange capacity (IEC), water uptake, proton conductivity and oxygen crossover. The MFC with the SSEBS-S-SiO2 membrane (7.5%) exhibited a higher peak power density of 1209 +/- 17 mW m(-2) than other composite membranes. In the SSEBS and SSEBS-SiO2 membrane systems, the peak power density was 680 +/- 13 mW m(-2) and 852 +/- 11 mW m(-2), respectively. The composite membrane showed 4 times higher power density than the Nafion 117 membrane (290 +/- 7 mW m(-2)). Overall, the composite membrane (particularly at S-SiO2 -7.5%) is a suitable technology in the MFC process because of its high proton conductivity imparted by S-SiO2. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.