Proton conductive species incorporated in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM), in general, are randomly existed in the membrane, and this limits the proton transfer efficiency. The present work proposes an approach to align the proton conductive species on the PEM surface so that the first contact of proton species from anode effectively initiates proton transfer efficiently. By simply conjugating benzimidazole (Bz) with magnetic nanoparticles (MagNPs) followed by applying magnetic field, Bz can be induced and aligned on the surface of sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) membrane and this results in 10% increment of the proton conductivity. The present work demonstrates a simple way to create a pathway on the membrane surface for proton hopping to improve the proton conductivity. (C) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.