Inorganic-organic composite membranes are fabricated using zirconium acetylacetonate nanoparticles and biphenol-based sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) as an inorganic, proton conducting nanomaterial and a polymer matrix, respectively. An amphiphilic surfactant (Pluronic (R)) induces distribution of the inorganic nanoparticles over the entire polymer membrane. The composite membranes are thermally stable up to 200 degrees C. Zirconium acetylacetonate improves inter-chain interactions and the robustness of polymer membranes resulting in excellent membrane mechanical properties. In addition, composite membranes show outstanding proton conductivity compared to that of the pristine membrane at medium temperatures (80-120 degrees C) and low relative humidity (<50%) conditions. This improvement is due to the presence of acetylacetonate anions, which bind water molecules and act as an additional proton conducting site and/or medium. Therefore, the composite membranes significantly outperform the pristine membrane in fuel cell performance tests at medium temperatures and low relative humidity. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.