The proton conducting nature of hydrogen tricyano fullerene has been characterized for applications in fuel cells. The fullerene alone did not show much proton conductivity itself. However, when mixed in a polymer, it exhibited a high conductivity under low humidity: 10(-2) S cm(-1) under the 20% relative humidity. The conductivity was enhanced as the dispersion of the fullerene was improved in the polymer matrix through two fullerene dispersants: C-60[N(CH2CH2O)(11)CH3](2) and C-60[C6H4O(CH2CH2O)(3)CH3](5). The computer modeling has been performed to gain insight into the proton conducting mechanism. (C) 2008 The Electrochemical Society.