Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Aroosa Javed, Paulina Palafox Gonzalez, Venkataraman Thangadurai
Summary: In the 21st century, proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are a promising source of power generation due to their high efficiency and eco-friendly design. However, the critical component of PEMFCs, proton exchange membranes (PEMs), have drawbacks such as high cost and reduction in proton conductivity at high temperatures. Recent research has focused on modifying PEMs through composite materials to improve their stability and proton conductivity. This article discusses the current developments in membranes for PEMFCs, with emphasis on hybrid membranes based on Nafion, PBI, and other nonfluorinated proton conducting membranes.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Electrochemistry
A. R. Gilev, E. A. Kiselev, K. S. Sukhanov, D. V. Korona, V. A. Cherepanov
Summary: La2NiO4+delta, LCNF0604, LSNF0604, LSNF0605 and LSNF0504 compounds were synthesized by the citrate-nitrate technique and their phase purity was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies showed that the polarization resistance decreased in the temperature range of 600-800 degrees C in wet air, with the order of LCNF0604>La2NiO4+delta>LSNF0504>LSNF0604>LSNF0605. The low frequency process was found to contribute significantly to the polarization resistance of the studied cells.
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Ning Wang, Chunmei Tang, Lei Du, Ruijie Zhu, Lixin Xing, Zhongqian Song, Baoyin Yuan, Lei Zhao, Yoshitaka Aoki, Siyu Ye
Summary: This review provides a comprehensive overview of oxide materials for PCFC cathodes, focusing on their proton uptake, conduction mechanisms, and structure-property relationships. The importance of designing cathode materials with tailorable H+, O2-, and e(-) conductivities for improving PCFC performance is emphasized. The electrochemical performance of these cathode materials in PCFCs is discussed, and the gaps in performance among PCFCs with different types of cathode materials are defined. Perspectives on the development of high-performance PCFCs are also proposed.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zhaoyu Zhong, Xiaoqian Xu, Zhenhao Zhang, Jiao Li, Xue Guo, Shigang Wu, Haibin Sun
Summary: This study successfully fabricated dense BZCYYb electrolytes at low temperatures using microwave sintering technique, effectively suppressing barium evaporation and promoting grain growth, leading to improved electrical conductivity. The microwave-sintered BZCYYb electrolyte exhibited excellent conductivity at 700 degrees C, indicating its potential application in SOFCs.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Laura Navarrete, Chung-Yul Yoo, Jose Manuel Serra
Summary: This work optimized the electrodes and electrolyte of electrochemical cells based on acid salts through different strategies, such as adding epoxy resin to enhance mechanical properties, selecting Ni sponge as active support, and infiltrating oxide nanoparticles to tailor electrode resistance. The selection of a cell supported on the electrode and the addition of an epoxy resin enabled the reduction of electrolyte thickness without compromising mechanical stability.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Andreea Laura Chibac-Scutaru, Sergiu Coseri
Summary: Fuel cells are eco-friendly appliances that convert chemical energy into electricity efficiently. The proton exchange membrane, such as NAFION, plays a crucial role in these devices. However, due to the limitations of NAFION, researchers are now focusing on developing new generation membranes based on natural materials like cellulose. Therefore, a review of recent studies on using cellulose as a material for proton exchange membranes in fuel cells would be highly appreciated by the scientific community.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Francisco J. A. Loureiro, Devaraj Ramasamy, Sergey M. Mikhalev, Aliaksandr L. Shaula, Daniel A. Macedo, Duncan P. Fagg
Summary: Protonic ceramic fuel cells show promise for energy conversion at intermediate temperatures. High order nickelates could be attractive cathode materials due to their high electrical conductivities. Composite cathodes in this study show improved performance, especially in wet O-2 conditions, with the correction of potential measurement biases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Maryam Farahmand Habibi, Majid Arvand
Summary: Microbial fuel cells utilize microorganisms to generate energy by breaking down organic matter. This study explores the use of silver/silver tungstate supported on different kinds of carbon materials as cathode material, which showed excellent oxygen reduction reaction performance. The catalyst improved power production and enabled broader applications of microbial fuel cells for renewable electricity generation using waste materials.
JOURNAL OF ELECTROANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Egor Baldin, Nikolay Lyskov, Galina Vorobieva, Igor Kolbanev, Olga Karyagina, Dmitry Stolbov, Valentina Voronkova, Anna Shlyakhtina
Summary: This study investigates the nanophases in the La2O3-MO3 (M = Mo, W) systems, which are known for their good oxygen-ion and proton conductivity. The mechanically activated La2O3 + MO3 mixtures and final ceramics were characterized using DSC, XRD, and SEM. The formation of hexagonal La15M8.5O48 (phase II, 5H polytype) nanophases was observed in both systems for the 1:1 composition. The nanocrystalline tungstates had a crystallite size of about 40 nm, while the nanocrystalline molybdates had a crystallite size of about 50 nm. The conductivity in dry and wet air was determined using impedance spectroscopy, and different phase transitions were observed at higher temperatures.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Yao Huang, Qiu-Yue Zhang, Qing Liao, Yan Chen, Xi Yan, Xiao-Jing Guo, Wan-Zhong Lang
Summary: The effect of Cr doping on the phase structure, microstructure, hydrogen permeation, and chemical stability of lanthanum tungstate was investigated. It was found that with the increase in Cr content, the hydrogen permeation flux also increased. The membrane with x = 0.2 showed the highest hydrogen permeation flux due to its higher oxygen vacancy concentration, and exhibited good stability during a 104-hour hydrogen permeation test.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Guowei Weng, Kun Ouyang, Xuanhe Lin, Sisi Wen, Yisa Zhou, Song Lei, Jian Xue, Haihui Wang
Summary: In this research, an efficient in-situ exsolution strategy was proposed to enhance the H-2 permeability and CO2 stability of lanthanum tungstate-type membranes. By in-situ generating catalytic Pd nanoparticles, the H-2 permeation flux was increased by 3.5 times and the membrane showed outstanding long-term chemical stability in a CO2-containing atmosphere.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zilin Ma, Qirui Ye, Bingkai Zhang, Wenying Yang, Feifei Dong, Meng Ni, Zhan Lin
Summary: The new material BFCS0.95 is proposed as an efficient bifunctional electrode for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells, showing outstanding catalytic performance, stability, and potential for sustainable energy development.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Hanin Mohammed, Amani Al-Othman, Paul Nancarrow, Yehya Elsayed, Muhammad Tawalbeh
Summary: This study synthesized high temperature proton conductors based on zirconium phosphate and imidazolium-based ionic liquids, finding that the addition of ionic liquids can significantly enhance the proton conductivity of the zirconium phosphate material under optimal conditions. The results indicate that this material has great potential for applications in high temperature fuel cells.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Review
Energy & Fuels
Wei Zhang, Yun Hang Hu
Summary: Solid oxide fuel cells operating at low temperatures (300-600 degrees C) have advantages for stationary and mobile electricity production, with proton-conducting oxides playing a critical role. Progress in proton-conducting solid oxide electrolytes for low-temperature SOFCs has been summarized, focusing on strategies to tune the structures and properties of proton-conducting oxides, techniques for improving performance of protonic ceramic-based SOFCs, and challenges and opportunities in the development of proton-conducting electrolyte-based PCFCs.
ENERGY SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Rupam Sahoo, Supriya Mondal, Shyam Chand Pal, Debolina Mukherjee, Madhab C. Das
Summary: COFs are a promising class of solid-state proton-conducting materials with high structural tunability and excellent properties, making them versatile platforms for electrochemical devices. This review discusses the strategies, structure-function relationships, challenges, and future prospects of COFs as proton conductors in detail.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Ragnar Kiebach, Steven Pirou, Lev Martinez Aguilera, Astri Bjornetun Haugen, Andreas Kaiser, Peter Vang Hendriksen, Maria Balaguer, Julio Garcia-Fayos, Jose Manuel Serra, Falk Schulze-Kueppers, Max Christie, Liudmila Fischer, Wilhelm Albert Meulenberg, Stefan Baumann
Summary: Oxygen transport membranes (OTMs) are a promising technology for oxygen production, offering lower costs and power consumption compared to cryogenic air separation or pressure swing adsorption. Dual-phase OTMs, composed of a stable ionic conductor and electronic conductor composite, have advantages over single-phase membranes in terms of chemical and mechanical stability. However, challenges remain in their large-scale employment.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sara Escorihuela, Cristina Cerda-Moreno, Fynn Weigelt, Sonia Remiro-Buenamanana, Sonia Escolastico, Alberto Tena, Sergey Shishatskiy, Torsten Brinkmann, Antonio Chica, Jose M. Serra
Summary: In this study, thin-film composite membranes (TFCM) were developed for in-situ water removal in a catalytic membrane reactor (CMR) for the Sabatier process, enabling higher catalytic stability and activity at elevated temperatures. The TFCM-mediated water extraction significantly improved CO2 conversion stability, with a notable increase in CO2 conversion rate and specific flux.
JOURNAL OF CO2 UTILIZATION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Daniel Clark, Harald Malerod-Fjeld, Michael Budd, Irene Yuste-Tirados, Dustin Beeaff, Simen Aamodt, Kevin Nguyen, Luca Ansaloni, Thijs Peters, Per K. Vestre, Dimitrios K. Pappas, Maria Valls, Sonia Remiro-Buenamanana, Truls Norby, Tor S. Bjorheim, Jose M. Serra, Christian Kjolseth
Summary: Proton ceramic reactors efficiently extract hydrogen from ammonia, methane, and biogas by combining endothermic reforming reactions with heat from electrochemical gas separation and compression. The successful scale-up to a 36-cell reactor stack demonstrates its potential in efficient hydrogen production, with complete conversion and high recovery rates of methane and ammonia even at high pressures.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Elisa Mercadelli, Angela Gondolini, Matteo Ardit, Giuseppe Cruciani, Cesare Melandri, Sonia Escolastico, Jose M. Serra, Alessandra Sanson
Summary: This study investigated the hydrogen permeation of BCZY-GDC asymmetric membranes for 100 hours using wet 15% CO2 in Ar as the sweep gas. The results showed that the asymmetric membranes exhibited promising and stable hydrogen permeation flux values under the test conditions, and no structural or morphological changes were detected after the testing.
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Daniel Hausmann, Lisa Patricia Freund, Cecilia Solis, Sven Giese, Mathias Goeken, Ralph Gilles, Steffen Neumeier
Summary: The crack susceptibility during processing greatly affects the workability of wrought alloys. The study focused on the formability and cracking behavior of the CoNi-base superalloy CoWAlloy1 during hot rolling. It was found that the precipitation of gamma ' and the absence of recrystallization led to pronounced crack propagation and limited formability below the gamma ' solvus temperature.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Andres Lopez-Garcia, Laura Almar, Sonia Escolastico, Ana B. Hungria, Alfonso J. Carrillo, Jose Manuel Serra
Summary: The intermittent nature of renewable energy resources requires the development of efficient energy storage technologies. Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) can improve processes such as CO2 electrolysis and play a significant role in controlling greenhouse gases. The study focused on the exsolution of ternary alloy nanoparticles to enhance the performance of SOEC devices.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yubing Li, Lei Zeng, Ge Pang, Xueer Wei, Mengheng Wang, Kang Cheng, Jincan Kang, Jose M. Serra, Qinghong Zhang, Ye Wang
Summary: The direct hydrogenation of CO2 to gasoline and olefins using bifunctional iron-zeolite tandem catalysts operated at high temperatures (>300 degrees C) can efficiently utilize CO2 from industrial combustion and green H2 produced by solid oxide electrolytic cells (SOEC). The optimized FeMnK+H-ZSM-5 catalyst achieves a selectivity of 70% for C5-C11 range hydrocarbons and 17% for C2-C4 lower olefins at 320 degrees C. The conversion levels of CO2 and the aromatics contents are significantly enhanced at higher temperatures.
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Marwan Laqdiem, Julio Garcia-Fayos, Laura Almar, Maria Balaguer, Jose M. Serra
Summary: Oxygen transport membranes (OTMs) are attractive for decarbonization of the industry, but the oxygen permeation remains a limitation. Dual-phase composite materials have potential as membrane candidates due to their stability under CO2 atmospheres. The phase ratio in the catalytic layers affects the surface-exchange reactions and plays a crucial role in improving the oxygen flux.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Marwan Laqdiem, Alfonso J. Carrillo, Georgios Dimitrakopoulos, Maria Balaguer, Julio Garcia-Fayos, Ahmed F. Ghoniem, Jose M. Serra
Summary: This study investigates the application of cerium oxide (CeO2) particles in solar-driven thermochemical cycles and explores the effect of doping with other cations on oxygen-vacancy concentration and crystal lattice. The results show that doping can enhance fuel yield and redox oxygen-exchange kinetics.
SOLID STATE IONICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
S. Escolastico, M. Balaguer, C. Solis, F. Toldra-Reig, S. Somacescu, U. Gerhards, A. Aguadero, K. Haas-Santo, R. Dittmeyer, J. M. Serra
Summary: Catalytic membrane reactors based on H2-separation membranes can enhance the performance of thermodynamically-limited reactions. This study characterizes the stability of La5.4WO11.1-& delta; protonic membrane material under H2S conditions and demonstrates the changes in crystalline structure and transport properties caused by the incorporation of sulfur.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Daria Balcerzak, Iga Szpunar, Ragnar Strandbakke, Sarmad W. Saeed, Calliope Bazioti, Aleksandra Mielewczyk-Gryn, Piotr Winiarz, Alfonso J. Carrillo, Maria Balaguer, Jose M. Serra, Maria Gazda, Sebastian Wachowski
Summary: This study investigated the Lu doping of Ba0.5La0.5CoO3 and its effect on the exsolution of oxide nanoparticles. The Lu doping caused phase segregation into the main BLCO-Lu phase and the secondary BCO-Lu phase. Exsolution of BCO-Lu nanoparticles on the main BLCO-Lu phase and vice versa was observed, indicating mutual exsolution of oxide NPs. Trace amount of the BaLuCo4O7 phase was also detected. The size and shape of the exsolved oxide NPs could be controlled by varying the annealing temperature. The findings provide potential for designing novel, more catalytically active materials for future electrochemical devices.
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Aleksandra Mielewczyk-Gryn, Shuhao Yang, Maria Balaguer, Ragnar Strandbakke, Magnus H. Sorby, Iga Szpunar, Agnieszka Witkowska, Sebastian Wachowski, Jose M. Serra, Alexandra Navrotsky, Maria Gazda
Summary: This study investigates the formation energetics and stability of BaLnCo(2)O(6-delta) (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, and Gd) (BLnC) and BaGd1-xLaxCo2O6-delta, where x = 0.2, 0.5, and 0.7 (BGLC) double perovskite cobaltites under high water partial pressure. These materials have potential applications in electrochemical devices as positrodes. It is found that all investigated materials are thermodynamically stable relative to binary oxides and exhibit exothermic enthalpies of formation. The BGLC compounds show higher negative formation enthalpies compared to single-Ln compositions, but the BLnC series demonstrate better chemical stability under high steam pressures.
DALTON TRANSACTIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Andres Lopez-Garcia, Aitor Dominguez-Saldana, Alfonso J. Carrillo, Laura Navarrete, Maria I. Valls, Beatriz Garcia-Banos, Pedro J. Plaza-Gonzalez, Jose Manuel Catala-Civera, Jose Manuel Serra
Summary: Exsolution has become a promising method for generating metallic nanoparticles, offering better stability and robustness compared to conventional deposition methods. Alternative exsolution methods that do not rely on high-temperature reduction are being explored, such as utilizing electrochemical potentials or plasma technologies. In this study, a method based on pulsed microwave radiation is proposed for driving the exsolution of metallic nanoparticles, enabling high scalability with short exposure times and low temperatures.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
J. M. Serra, M. Balaguer, J. Santos-Blasco, J. F. Borras-Morell, B. Garcia-Banos, P. Plaza-Gonzalez, D. Catalan-Martinez, F. Penaranda-Foix, A. Dominguez, L. Navarrete, J. M. Catala-Civera
Summary: This study investigates microwave-induced redox transformations on solid-state ion-conducting materials, and finds that reduction is triggered at a specific temperature leading to a significant increase in electric conductivity. The effectiveness of the redox process is influenced by material composition, gas environment, and microwave power intensity, with fine-grained materials showing amplified effects.
MATERIALS HORIZONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Ragnar Strandbakke, David S. Wragg, Magnus H. Sorby, Matylda N. Guzik, Anette E. Gunnaes, Iga Szpunar, Sebastian Lech Wachowski, Maria Balaguer, Patricia A. Carvalho, Aleksandra Mielewczyk-Gryn, Jose M. Serra, Truls Norby
Summary: BGLC compositions with large compositional ranges of Ba, Gd, and La show significant compositional flexibility and the ability to tune functional properties, as well as anisotropic chemical expansion.
DALTON TRANSACTIONS
(2022)
