bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Revealing the Impact of Cell Conditioning on PEMWE Catalyst Layer Morphology
Authors: Seip Tess , Hasan Ahmed Moayad , Parmar Harsharaj Birendrasingh , Zhu Lijun , Lytle Spencer , Wang Jian , Hitchcock Adam , Shaigan Nima , Dinu Marius , Fatih Khalid , Lytle Spencer , Bazylak Aimy 
Published: February 2024

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis is a promising green hydrogen generation technology to mitigate the effects of anthropogenic climate change. To achieve stable cell voltages, a conditioning procedure is typically required, where current or voltage cycling is applied until stable performance is achieved. Previous studies have demonstrated that a decrease in voltage occurs within the first few hours of operation [1], but this conditioning period has not been extensively studied for PEM electrolyzers, despite a variety of standard conditioning protocols available for PEM fuel cells in the literature. Previous works additionally suggest that changes in performance may be induced due to structural changes in the anode catalyst layer (CL) caused by large gas bubble evolution during the first few hours of operation [2]. However, to establish and optimize a conditioning procedure for PEMWEs, the specific structural changes caused by conditioning on the anode CL must be elucidated and correlated with the electrochemical performance parameters.
In this work, we applied scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) to PEMWE catalyst layers to reveal pore and ionomer distributions in pristine and conditioned commercial CL samples. Prior to imaging, CL samples were embedded in epoxy and cut to 50 nm thick slices using an ultramicrotome. Using near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, Carbon 1s and Fluorine 1s absorption edges were probed to reveal pore and ionomer distributions, respectively. After image acquisition, the image stacks were processed to obtain the ionomer and epoxy spectra to enable spectral fitting and thresholding. Through this analysis, we quantified various morphological properties of catalyst layers (including CL thickness, porosity, pore size distribution, agglomerate distribution, and ionomer content) and compared these properties to those of pristine CLs to explain changes in cell performance. The insights gained from this work will aid in the development of efficient conditioning protocols and identify optimal post-conditioned anode CL morphology to inform the design of next-generation catalyst materials.

A. Weiß et al., J Electrochem Soc, 166, F487–F497 (2019).

O. Panchenko et al., Mater Today Energy, 16, 100394 (2020).
Microporous Transport Layers Facilitating Low Iridium Loadings in Polymer Electrolyte Water Electrolyzers
Authors: Weber Carl Cesar , Meinert Robin , Appel Christian , Holler Mirko , Gubler Lorenz , De Angelis Salvatore , Buechi Felix N. 
Published: February 2024

Minimizing iridium content in the anodic catalyst layer (CL) of polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers (PEWE) is essential for facilitating the needed rapid scale-up of hydrogen production capacity. However, reducing the iridium loading inevitably produces thinner CLs (if not changing the catalyst itself). This can have severe effects on performance and stability, mainly due to the losses in the connectivity of the 3D structure. Microporous layers (MPLs) have the potential to improve the performance and catalyst layer utilization of PEWE cells[1], especially at low Ir-loadings since they minimize the in-plane transport length of the required species (i.e. electric and fluidic transport).
In this work, we characterized the 3D structure and transport properties of typical IrO2/TiO2 core-shell PEWE catalyst layers[2] by synchrotron-based ptychographic X-ray laminography (PyXL)[3]. Furthermore, we fabricated CLs at different Ir-loadings between 2.5 – 0.1 mgIr cm-2 depositing them either on the membrane i.e. catalyst-coated membranes (CCM) or on the MPL/PTL i.e. porous transport electrode (PTE). We tested the electrodes in PEWE cells using novel MPLs and standard commercial porous transport layers (PTLs) and compared their electrochemical performance and overpotentials. We observe that ultra-low iridium loadings (0.1 mgIr cm-2) with only relatively small setbacks in performance are possible when using Pt-coated MPLs. Moreover, we correlate the electrochemical results with the 3D structure of the CL by PyXL and the MPL/CL interface by lab-based X-ray tomographic microscopy (Figure 1). Finally, we will discuss the challenges of fabricating low-loaded anodic CLs in CCM and PTE configuration and the advantages of using an MPL in both scenarios.
[1] T. Schuler, J. M. Ciccone, B. Krentscher, F. Marone, C. Peter, T. J. Schmidt, F. N. Büchi, Adv. Energy Mater.
2020, 10, 1903216.
[2] S. De Angelis, T. Schuler, M. Sabharwal, M. Holler, M. Guizar-Sicairos, E. Müller, F. N. Büchi, Sci Rep
2023, 13, 4280.
[3] M. Holler, M. Odstrcil, M. Guizar-Sicairos, M. Lebugle, E. Müller, S. Finizio, G. Tinti, C. David, J. Zusman, W. Unglaub, O. Bunk, J. Raabe, A. F. J. Levi, G. Aeppli, Nature Electronics
2019, 2, 464.
Figure 1. Surface renderings from XTM/PyXL and SEM images of porous transport electrodes (PTE, left) and catalyst-coated membranes (CCM, right) of selected samples used in this work.

Figure 1
Promoting AEM Water Electrolyzer Performance and Reproducibility by Tumbler Milling of Ni3fe-LDH OER Catalyst
Authors: Galkina Irina , Faid Alaa Y. , Grigorev Nikita , Jiang Wulyu , Borowski Patrick , Sunde Svein , Shviro Meital , Lehnert Werner , Mechler Anna K. , Scheepers Fabian 
Published: February 2024

Anion exchange membrane water electrolysis is an attractive clean energy technology for producing hydrogen for energy storage, transport 1,2 and numerous other applications. Rational choice of highly active and stable catalysts as well as the proper design of catalyst layers are crucial to achieve technical relevance of electrolyser systems. The establishment of clear understanding of optimal catalyst treatment and methods of implementation are key steps towards optimized electrolyzer performance and durability. One aspect of catalyst performance in catalyst layers is the catalyst size distribution. A multimodal size distribution of catalyst particles or agglomerates can jeopardize the layer homogeneity and thus electrode performance.
In this work, the effect of high-energy ball tumbling milling on the promising Ni3Fe-LDH OER catalyst followed by catalyst dispersion control was correlated to the microstructure of the catalyst layer, the achieved catalyst activity and utilization, and the resulting single cell performance and stability. Physico-chemical characterization confirmed the stable layered double hydroxide structure of the catalyst. By milling, a 300-fold reduction of catalyst agglomerate size, and an 8.8-fold increase of the geometrical surface was achieved. The optimized solvent compositions effectively increased the catalyst ink stability. We found that a significantly decreased catalyst agglomerate size resulted in very homogeneous mixtures of catalyst and ionomer. By tailoring the electrode structure design, lower internal electronic resistances of the electrodes, decreased charge-transfer resistances (Rct) of the membrane electrode assembly, and stable single cell durability of 1000 h with a minor degradation rate of 57 µV h-1 were accomplished.
This work presents a facile and scalable approach of NiFe-LDH catalyst treatment and dispersion control and provides a guideline to follow for further electrode development and increased AEM water electrolyzer performances.

References

(1) Hydrogen Applications. Hydrogen Europe. 2020. https://hydrogeneurope.eu/hydrogen-applications (accessed Jan 7, 2022).
(2) Vincent, I.; Bessarabov, D. Low Cost Hydrogen Production by Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolysis: A Review. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev.
2018, 81 (August 2016), 1690–1704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.258.

This work has been performed in the frame of the CHANNEL project. This project has received funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (now Clean Hydrogen Partnership) under grant agreement No 875088. This Joint undertaking receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.
Oxygen Evolution Reaction with ZrCo and ZrNi Electrode Materials
Authors: Le Tonquesse Sylvain , Altendorf Simone , Grin Yuri , Antonyshyn Iryna 
Published: February 2024

Investigation of the intermetallic compounds as anode materials for water electrolysis helps to solve a lot of issues, which electrocatalysis and solid state chemistry communities face nowadays. Intermetallic compounds possess unique properties in terms of their crystal structure, electronic properties and chemical bonding, allowing the knowledge-based route for electrocatalyst development. Furthermore, usage of the single-phase anode material is a way to exclude the influence of interface as well as nature and stability issues of the support. At the same time, studies of the intermetallic compounds under the reaction conditions shed light onto the chemical properties of the intermetallic compounds, which are scarcely described in literature and of particular importance for solid state chemistry field.
In this study, binary intermetallic compounds ZrCo and ZrNi were studied as anode materials for alkaline water electrolysis. The successful synthesis of single-phase samples of both compounds was followed by manufacturing of the cylindrically-shaped electrodes using spark plasma sintering technique. The assessment of the electrocatalytic performance was carried out in three-electrode cell, applying different measurement protocols, giving the information about OER activity of studied materials, its stability over time as well as other electrochemical features, giving the information about the processes occurring on the electrode surfaces. To monitor the material changes under conditions of OER, the electrodes were comprehensively characterized before and after the electrochemical experiments using bulk- and surface-sensitive techniques. Combined data was discussed and compared with state-of-the-art OER electrocatalysts for alkaline media.
Research and Innovation Activities on PEM Fuel Cells and Electrolysers Supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Authors: Pavel Claudiu , Lymperopoulos Nikolaos , Kontonasiou Eleni , Feola Luca , Sakellaris Kostis , Atanasiu Mirela 
Published: February 2024

The Clean Hydrogen Partnership — the successor of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) — aims to contribute to EU Green Deal and Hydrogen Strategy by providing financial support for research and innovation activities in the field of advanced clean hydrogen technologies. It builds on 15 years of strategic cooperation between public and private sectors enabling several innovative technologies to advance from the experimental scale closer to maturity.
The projects funded under the previous FCH JU programmes and the first Call for Proposals 2022 of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership have significantly advanced both the proton-exchange membrane-based fuel cell (PEMFC) and electrolyser (PEMEL) technologies. So far, about 660 million EUR were allocated to support 122 projects addressing different aspects of PEMFC and PEMEL technologies. A large share of this funding, around 585 mil EUR supporting 102 projects, was dedicated to large scale demonstrations of PEMFC in transport and stationary applications. Largely thanks to this support, the EU reached a competitive position to provide PEMFC and PEMEL technologies with a well-established supply chain from processing the raw materials into specialised materials (e.g. electro-catalysts), production of components and sub-systems.
Significant advancements have been made in the development, validation and demonstration of PEM fuel cell technologies for material handling vehicles, buses and passenger cars as well as stationary applications. Future research and demonstration projects on PEM fuel cells are needed in transport sector such as heavy-duty vehicles, industrial vehicles, shipping and aviation.
The R&I projects on PEM electrolysers have contributed to making hydrogen production more competitive and enabled the scale-up of these technologies alongside improvements in efficiency and cost reduction. Significant progress has been made on PEMEL for example: (i) achieving a rapid response time (in the order of a few seconds) needed in grid balancing, (ii) upscale the PEM electrolysers to a multi-MW level and (iii) providing reliable green hydrogen production solutions to decarbonise industrial processes.
This paper will cover the status and main results of R&I activities in PEM fuel cells and electrolysers supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, including an overview of the European competitiveness in this sector.
Load Profile Test Development and Analysis from Heavy Duty Truck Drive Cycles
Authors: Tsikonis Leonidas 
Published: February 2024

On their way to their commercialisation, Fuel Cell Heavy Duty Trucks stakeholders need to demonstrate their cost effectiveness against conventional Diesel Trucks. Beyond the economies of scale of all relevant components that are employed in a Fuel Cell Electric Heavy Duty Truck, the durability of the Fuel Cell System and notably that of the Fuel Cell Stack plays an important role in the determination of a competitive cost of ownership.
A key factor for durability improvement is the understanding of the degradation mechanisms and their mitigation. Degradation, however, can be very application specific, that is, different degradation mechanisms may be prevalent in heavy duty truck applications compared to passenger cars or stationary use. This is well known to research and industry.
The European research project IMMORTAL is exactly aiming at exploring these mechanisms and their mitigation specifically for heavy duty truck application and developing and MEA that meets heavy duty requirements. Within this context, FPT Industrial, a brand of the Iveco Group, assists in defining the specific conditions met by Fuel Cell Stacks used in such powertrains.
This presentation discusses how heavy duty truck load profiles can be extracted, how they may differ and how they may be assessed before they are used to define load profile tests (LPTs). It is also discussed how the results of such testing can be used to estimate degradation trends of the Fuel Cell and subsequently its durability and the cost of ownership of fuel cell trucks.

The research leading to these results has received funding from the IMMORTAL project, which receives funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking (now Clean Hydrogen Partnership) under Grant Agreement No. 101006641. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research.
Redox-Active Polymers Designed for the Circular Economy of Energy Storage Devices
Authors: Giovannitti Alexander 
Published: February 2024

The decarbonization of the transport and energy sector will accelerate the demand for electrochemical energy storage devices. While past and current research efforts strongly focused on improving the performance of cells (energy density, power density, and stability), little attention has been paid to how these devices are recycled after their end of life, leaving the recycling of devices as an afterthought. Thus, to limit the accumulation of electric waste and the depletion of important raw materials for energy storage devices, there is an urgency to develop a circular economy for materials and integrate recyclability in device architectures. In my talk, I will present a new concept where we applied chemical design strategies to intentionally develop redox-active materials for a circular economy.[1] We developed solution-processible redox-active conjugated polymers that function as binder- and additive-free electrodes with high stability in aqueous electrolytes, achieving >98% retention of the capacity after 500 charging/discharging cycles. The tuning of the local environment of the polymer further enables fast charging of micron-thick single-phase electrodes with cell voltages > 1.2 V in aqueous electrolytes. Finally, we demonstrate the recyclability of the devices, achieving >85% capacity retention after recycling (76 % retention after recycling the device twice). Our work is a demonstration of how material chemistry enables the development of a circular economy for electrochemical energy storage devices.
[1] S. T. M. Tan, T. J. Quill, M. Moser, G. LeCroy, X. Chen, Y. Wu, C. J. Takacs, A. Salleo, A. Giovannitti, ACS Energy Lett. 2021, 6, 3450.
(Invited) Ion Transport in Solid-State Electrolytes Based on TTF - TCNQ Charge-Transfer Complexes
Authors: Yang Lingyu , Schaefer Jennifer L. 
Published: February 2024

Current research on solid-state organic electrolytes mainly focuses on polymer electrolytes where ion transport is facilitated by chain segmental motion. The ionic conductivity of these polymer electrolytes at room temperature in too low for many practical applications. A limited number of prior reports suggest that solid-state electrolytes including organic crystalline charge-transfer complexes can have surprisingly high ionic conductivity. We report1 that processing and environmental conditions drastically impact electron and ion charge transport properties of charge-transfer complex electrolytes based on tetrathiafulvalene-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TTF-TCNQ) mixed with lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonylimide) (LiTFSI). Thermal annealing and water vapor treatment decrease electronic conductivity and increase ionic conductivity. The electrolyte with 1-1-2-0.45 molar ratio of TTF-TCNQ-LiTFSI-H2O has an ionic conductivity of 2 × 10-3 S/cm at 25 °C with electronic conductivity of order 10-7 S/cm. Thermal annealing helps reduce connectivity of the charge-transfer complexes and expose more surfaces to interact with LiTFSI, thereby decreasing electronic conductivity. Exposure of the sample to water vapor then causes a substantial increase in ionic conductivity, even when the material remains in the solid state. In this presentation, we will also report on additional experimental studies of solid-state electrolytes incorporating TTF-TCNQ.
Reference 1. L. Yang and J. L. Schaefer, “Water-Assisted Ion Conduction in Solid-State Charge-Transfer Complex Electrolytes for Lithium Batteries,” ChemRxiv, 2023. https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-9k024
Chemical and Electrochemical Interaction of Halide and Sulfide-Based Electrolytes in Solid-State Batteries
Authors: Tron Artur , Molaiyan Palanivel , Paolella Andrea , Jahn Marcus 
Published: February 2024

Introduction

Conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have found widespread small and large applications. However, safety issues and capacity degradation of the cells, in general, can occur due to the use of toxic and flammable liquid electrolytes [1]. As one of the next-generation LIBs, solid-state lithium batteries (SSBs) have the potential to replace liquid electrolyte LIBs due to their safety and potentially high energy density [2]. The key component of SSBs is the solid-state electrolyte (SSE). Sulfide and halide-based solid electrolytes are among the hot topics in solid electrolyte research for SSBs. Despite the advantages of solid electrolytes, such as good compatibility with high-voltage cathode materials and soft fabrication. However, the poor chemical and electrochemical stability of sulfide and halide-based solid electrolytes towards Li metal has a critical problem that causes the degradation of the lithium/solid electrolyte interface due to the formation of side reaction components that leads to inhibiting lithium kinetics [3].

Results and Discussion

Here, we have shown that a combination of halide and argyrodite (Li6PS5Cl) solid electrolytes can lead to the prevention of the formation of unfavorable interactions between solid electrolytes and lithium metal anode. The combination of halide and argyrodite (Li6PS5Cl) in the Li/Li symmetric cell can stabilize cycle life and increase the high critical current density (CCD) from C/20 to C/2 in comparison with the pure halide and argyrodite electrolytes. Furthermore, compared to the original halide and argyrodite electrolytes, a high initial coulombic efficiency and cycle life can be maintained when combined with a full Li/NCM cell. This approach to improving halide-based SSBs can provide a fairly simple and efficient strategy.

Acknowledgements

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe programme for research and innovation under grant agreement No. 101069681 (HELENA project).

References

[1] Y. Meesala, A. Jena, H. Chang, R.-S. Liu, Recent Advancements in Li-Ion Conductors for All-Solid-State Li-Ion Batteries, ACS Energy Letters 2 (12) (2017) 2734-2751.
[2] Z. Zhang, Y. Shao, B. Lotsch, Y.-S. Hu, H. Li, J. Janek, L. F. Nazar, C.-W. Nan, J. Maier, M. Armand, L. Chen, New horizons for inorganic solid state ion conductors. Energy & Environmental Science 2018, 11, 1945-1976.
[3] C. Wang, J. Liang, J. Luo, J. Liu, X. Li, F. Zhao, R. Li, H. Huang, S. Zhao, L. Zhang, J. Wang, X. Sun, A universal wet-chemistry synthesis of solid-state halide electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium-metal batteries, Sci. Adv. 7 (2021) eabh189 1-9.
High Temperature Corrosion of Inconel 625 and Pure Nickel in Contact with Fluoride Melts
Authors: Nikbakht Aida , Bahramian Behnam , Geers Christine 
Published: February 2024

Considering the fact that fossil fuels are not inexhaustible, and they pollute the environment, the automotive industry is transitioning from internal combustion to electric engines. As a result, batteries are becoming a strategic component of cars and thus battery ingredients are considered as important raw materials. Therefore, these batteries need to be recycled as well, since the natural resources for producing them are limited and some of the elements like nickel which are used in these batteries can be hazardous if left in the environment. In order to recycle electric batteries, furnaces with high temperature corrosion resistance are necessary. Maintaining these furnaces for longer periods is of great interest and necessitates it for the challenges to be dealt with, especially in case of high temperature corrosion.
In the present study, high temperature corrosion behavior of Inconel 625 is compared with pure nickel. Both metals have been exposed to fluoride melts (to mimic the recycling process) for different durations of time. The performances of these two bulk metals are investigated mainly through scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. Element leaching, oxidation, depth of internal attack and depletion profile are among the main parameters studied here. Experiments are carried out both in dry and humid condition to see how humidity changes the reactions. Since there are different alloying elements in Inconel 625, and humidity is involved, pure nickel is used as the baseline to see the effect of different parameters involved. Filtered air is used as the main environment in this study and lithium fluoride is used as the main salt.