bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
(Invited) Leveraging Magnetohydrodynamic Mechanisms for Stable and Efficient Microgravity Electrolysis
Authors: Romero-Calvo Álvaro , Brinkert Katharina 
Published: September 2023

Water electrolysis is the fundamental chemical process for oxygen and hydrogen production in space. It is widely employed in modern environmental control and life support systems, propulsion technologies, and high-density energy storage devices. Furthermore, future interplanetary missions are likely to employ water as a commodity acquired and processed by In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) methodologies to produce propellants, thereby reducing vehicle launch mass.
The absence of buoyancy results in major technical challenges for the operation of electrolytic cells in low gravity. The need to detach and collect oxygen and hydrogen bubbles has been traditionally addressed by means of forced water recirculation loops. However, this leads to complex, inefficient, and unreliable liquid management devices composed of multiple elements and moving parts. Two distinct magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mechanisms may instead be employed to induce phase separation: diamagnetic, and Lorentz forces. The former arises in the presence of strong, inhomogeneous magnetic fields and results in a magnetic buoyancy effect. The latter is a consequence of the imposition of a magnetic field to the current generated between two electrodes. Both approaches can potentially lead to a new generation of electrolytic cells with minimum or no moving parts, hence enabling the human deep space operations with minimum mass and power penalties.
Dedicated microgravity experiments are required to study these novel magnetically enhanced electrolysis concepts. This presentation introduces the fundamentals of both methods and discusses the experimental design and results from several experimental campaigns at ZARM’s drop tower and Blue Origin’s New Shepard. The performance of representative electrolytic cells subject to different MHD regimes is addressed from an electrochemical and fluid dynamic perspectives. It is demonstrated that the MHD force effectively detaches and collects gas bubbles in microgravity while increasing the current density and improving the stability of the electrolytic cell. Ultimately, this opens the door for the development of highly-efficient space electrolytic cells with applications to human and robotic space exploration.
(Invited) The Electrostatic Levitation Furnace Onboard the International Space Station for Container-Less Material Processing and Thermophysical Property Measurements at Extremely High Temperature
Authors: Ishikawa Takehiko , Koyama Chihiro , Oda Hirohisa , Shimonishi Rina , Ito Tsuyoshi 
Published: September 2023

Electrostatic levitation is one of the container-less processing methods which utilizes Coulomb force between a charged sample and surrounding electrodes. Contrary to the other methods, electrostatic levitation cannot create a potential minimum, so high-speed feedback position control is necessary. Because of this technical difficulty, development of this method was behind to other methods, such as electromagnetic levitation, or acoustic levitation. Samples can be levitated even in ground. However, to levitate samples against gravity, huge electric field and huge surface charge on the sample are required. This creates some limitations in ground experiments. Firstly, Oxides samples are hard to levitate due to low surface charge. Secondly, experiment in inert gas environment is impossible to prevent electric discharge among electrodes. These limitations can be easily solved in microgravity. Oxides sample cane be levitated and melted. Metals and alloys can be processed in inert gas to suppress evaporation.
The electrostatic levitation furnace on the International Space Station (ISS-ELF) developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, was launched to the ISS in 2015. Then, Installation to the MSPR (multi-purpose Small Payload Rack) was conducted in the next year. Since then, a variety of oxide/ metal samples have been levitated and melted in the facility. The ISS-ELF has a capability to measure thermophysical property of extremely high temperature melts. Density, Surface tension, and viscosity can be measured by this facility. Status of thermophysical property measurements is described in this presentation.
Application of Water-Based Ferrofluid for Water Electrolysis
Authors: Iwamoto Yuhiro , Chimura Kotaro , Ido Yasushi , Ishii Yosuke , Jeyadevan Balachandran 
Published: September 2023

A combination of renewable energies and water electrolysis has been attracting much attention as an environmentally-friendly method to produce hydrogen, which has been expected as promising future energy storage and carrier media. And micro-gravity induces the adsorption of gas-bubbles on the surface of electrodes and this leads the declination of water electrolysis. In the present study, a new method which has the potential to dramatically enhance the water electrolysis efficiency was proposed by utilizing the magnetic buoyancy. Using water-based ferrofluids as an electrolyte and directly electrolyzing them in the presence of inhomogeneous magnetic fields enhance the desorption of gas-bubbles adsorbed on electrodes.
When non-magnetic bodies are placed in the ferrofluid and are exposed to an inhomogeneous magnetic field, the magnetic buoyancy force acts on the non-magnetic bodies. Because the gradient of the magnetic field gives the magnetic buoyancy force, the non-magnetic body moves as the non-magnetic body is ejected from the magnetic field. When the water-based ferrofluid is used as an electrolyte and magnets are placed nearby electrodes, the magnetic buoyancy force acts on the bubbles (H2 and O2) generated from the surface of the electrodes, resulting in the water electrolysis enhancement.
However, the effect of the magnetic fields on the water electrolysis using the ferrofluid is not well understood. In the present study, to understand the effect of the magnetic field on the water electrolysis, the chronoamperometry measurements in the presence of the magnetic field was carried out. The results showed that the water electrolysis is found to be enhanced by increasing the magnetic field intensity due to the magnetic buoyancy force. The present study showed that our proposed method has a great potential to enhance the water electrolysis substantially.
In addition, we investigated the effect of magnetic field strength on the water electrolysis process by a dynamic impedance method. The Nyquist plot was obtained by the dynamic impedance method. The tested electrolyte was a water-based ferrofluid adding Na2SO4 with 0.1 mol/L. When the magnetic field intensity increases, Z
Re decreases, which represents that the resistance in the water electrolysis becomes smaller. The equivalent circuit fits the experimental data well, resulting in that it is possible to divide the whole resistance into the charge-transfer and solution resistances. The charge-transfer resistance dramatically decreases with the magnetic field strength, while the solution resistance doesn't change. This phenomenon explains that the magnetic buoyancy sufficiently enhances the bubble desorption, resulting in the water electrolysis enhancement.
(Invited) Effect of Gaseous Tritium Environments on Betavoltaic Device Longevity
Authors: Ellis Brian , Patel Jayesh , Kaloni Thaneshwor , Torres Edmanuel 
Published: September 2023

Direct betavoltaic energy conversion is a specialized energy harvesting technology, converting beta radiation from a radiation source directly into electricity using a semiconductor. Of the most common beta emitting isotopes, tritium betavoltaics hold promise owing to the high specific activity of solid tritium compounds, low shielding requirements and relatively high availability. Betavoltaic devices offer great promise to produce continuous quantities of nanowatt to microwatt power over the course of several years, particularly for low-power sensor, medical, and space applications where sunlight is too sparse for solar cell use or where battery replacement is challenging.
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) is currently developing betavoltaic devices based on tritium. CNL has unique facilities to produce, fabricate and test betavoltaic devices. Computational techniques have been used to address challenges of longevity and electron-hole pair generation in semiconductor materials, in particular (In,Ga)P. Long-term studies on test wafers in different tritium-containing environments and the effects on power output and longevity will also be discussed.
(Invited) Electrochemical Conversion of CO2 Into Oxygen/ and C/CO in Molten Carbonate
Authors: Yin Huayi , Wang Dihua 
Published: September 2023

The molten salt CO2 capture and electrochemical transformation (MSCC-ET) process has been demonstrated as an effective approach to capturing and converting CO2 into oxygen and C/CO [1-2]. The effective CO2 capture and electrochemical conversion rely on the high-temperature molten carbonate electrolytes and the cost-effective inert oxygen-evolution anode. In recent years, we have focused on the electrolyte engineering to modulate the reactions at both the cathode and anode as well as the CO2 capture efficiency [3-4]. Besides, we insist on developing iron- and nickel-base oxygen-evolution inert anodes in terms of revealing the fundamental principles and basic guidelines for choosing proper materials and fabrication processes [5]. By doing so, we can prepare functional carbon materials or CO at the cathode with a high current efficiency of over 90%, and produce oxygen at the inert anode. In addition, the kilo-ampere scale electrolyzer was built to produce oxygen, carbon or CO with an energy efficiency of over 50%. Therefore, the molten carbonate CO2 electrolyzer shows its potential to convert CO2 on the Mars to produce oxygen and fuels to support the future exploration of outer space.

References

[1] H. Y. Yin, D. H. Wang*, et al., Capture and electrochemical conversion of CO2 to value-added carbon and oxygen by molten salt electrolysis. Energy & Environmental Science, 2013, 6: 1538-1545.
[2] R. Jiang, M. X. Gao, X. H. Mao, D. H. Wang*. Advancements and potentials of molten salt CO2 capture and electrochemical transformation (MSCC-ET) process, Current Opinion in Electrochemistry, 2019, 17: 38-46.
[3] B. W. Deng, J. J. Tang, X. H. Mao, Y. Q. Song, H. Zhu, W. Xiao, D. H. Wang*. Kinetic and Thermodynamic Characterization of Enhanced Carbon Dioxide Absorption Process with Lithium Oxide-Containing Ternary Molten Carbonate, Environmental Science & Technology, 2016, 50(19): 10588-10595.
[4] Z. S Yang, B. W. Deng, K. F. Du, H. Y. Yin*, D. H. Wang*, A general descriptor for guiding the electrolysis of CO2 in molten carbonate, 2022, in press.
[5] P. L. Wang, K. F. Du, Y. P. Dou, H. Zhu, D. H. Wang*, Corrosion behaviour and mechanism of nickel anode in SO42- containing molten Li2CO3-Na2CO3-K2CO3. Corrosion Science 2022, 166.

Figure 1
Electrochemical and Spectroscopic Study on Electrochemical Processing of Silicon in Fluoride Melt
Authors: Suzuki Yuta , Fukunaka Yasuhiro , Goto Takuya 
Published: September 2023

For sustainable space utilization on the Moon and the Mars, it is essential to establish in-situ resources and energy utilization systems in space. Because of the large amount of silica in the regolith which composed of metallic oxides on the Moon and the Mars, the technology development for the covering the silica to silicon and oxygen is indispensable. The silicon can be used as a key material for silicon photovoltaics. Against this background, the authors have studied the electrochemical reduction of silica to silicon in fluoride melt. We propose a one-step process to obtain a silicon film on the cathode by electrolysis using molten salts containing silica. To determine the feasibility of the proposed process, it is necessary to understand the effects of the physicochemical properties such as the coordination structure of Si ions in the fluoride melt since the difference in the melt structure affects the nucleation and growth mechanisms of the silicon electrodeposition. However, there are few reports on the dissolved state of silicon ions in fluoride melt. The author thus clarified the relationship of the electrochemical behavior of coordination structure of Si ions in fluoride melts composed of LiF, KF, and NaF.
The coordination structure of Si ions in the fluoride melt was investigated by high-temperature Raman spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT). The vibrational modes of the Si ions were detected through high-temperature Raman spectroscopy and the Raman bands were simulated by DFT calculations. We clarified the interaction between Si ions and cation and anion species such as Li+, Na+, K+, O2−, and F−. In addition, the electrochemical behavior of Si ions was investigated by electrochemical measurements. The effect of O2− ions on the dissolution of SiO2 and the electrodeposition process of Si in fluoride molten salts revealed a significant increase in the reduction current of Si ions as well as in the film thickness and current efficiency of deposited Si. The molten fluoride system, which can fabricate Si films from SiO2 at low temperatures, has the potential to develop environmentally friendly and sustainable electrolytic systems.
(Invited, Digital Presentation) Electrochemistry at the Atomic Scale
Authors: Jacob Timo 
Published: September 2023

Electrochemistry is at the heart of many important industrial processes or systems, ranging from electrolysis and hydrogen evolution over corrosion, metal deposition up to batteries, fuel cells and photoelectrochemical devices. Here, the interface between the electrolyte and the electrolyte, which can be considered the site where electrocatalytic processes occur, is of particular interest. Due to its complexity and multi-component environment even after many decades of research, our understanding of the properties of this interface is still scarce. In this talk we will discuss how modern theoretical multi-scale methods in conjunction with in-situ experiments on well-defined model systems is capable to unravel the structure and composition of these interfaces as well as the ongoing electrochemical processes.
We will concentrate on metal-ion based energy storage systems, including Li-ion and Mg-ion batteries. In our experimental work we concentrated on realizing and investigating the deposition of these metal ions on model electrodes in order to understand apparent nucleation and growth processes (e.g. dendrite formation/growth). By combining different in-situ structure sensitive techniques we could resolve the initial stages of dendrite formation, which we believe is prerequisite to avoid or control their appearance [1]. The experimental work was accompanied with corresponding theoretical studies [2] on the self-diffusion on transition metal electrodes, battery-relevant materials and finally the dynamics of alloy-based electrocatalysts under operation conditions, showing the importance and urgent need for in-operando experimental studies. Further, we will discuss our recent work on understanding plasma-electrochemical systems and how plasmas are capable to alter the structure and properties of materials [3].
[1] Berger, C.; Ceblin M.; Jacob T., ChemElectroChem
2017, 4, 261.
[2] Gaißmaier, D.; Fantauzzi, D.; Jacob T., J. Chem. Phys.
2019, 150, 041723.
[3] Menezes, P.V.; Elnagar, M.M.; Eckl, M.; Al-Shakran, M.; Menezes, P.W.; Jacob, T., Adv.
Funct. Mater., DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202107058.
Cycling Performance of Zinc-Nickel Rechargeable Battery Using Segmentation of Electrolyte
Authors: Morimitsu Masatsugu , Okumura Takuya , Yasuda Mayu 
Published: September 2023

An aqueous rechargeable battery (ARB) shows a high safety and a potential of high cycleability, which have been demonstrated with nickel-hydrogen batteries (NHB) used in electrified vehicles such as HEV and PHEV and electronic devices. A zinc-nickel secondary battery (ZNB) is one of the promising candidates of next-generation ARB which could have higher energy density and power density than NHB, although the zinc anode for secondary uses is still suffering from the issues on dendrite growth and non-uniform redistribution of zinc and zinc oxide, because they result in an internal short circuit and a poor capacity retention.
In this paper, we introduce a novel zinc anode with segmentation of electrolyte (SoE) developed in our recent works. The concept of SoE is to segment the space of the electrolyte between the anode and the cathode. The electrolyte is KOH solutions containing zincate ions that are the intermediate of redox reaction between zinc and zinc oxide, and SoE gives the limited space for zincate ions, within which they can move free but the concentration change is suppressed in the limited space so that the non-uniform reaction distribution during charge and discharge is also inhibited.
Our ZNB using SoE technology presented the excellent cycling performance at 1 C of charge-discharge rate for 5,500 cycles, in which the charge and discharge voltages hardly changed and the discharge capacity was 90% or more of the initial one during the cycles [1]. Comparison to ZNB using non-woven separator further indicated that SoE technology is beneficial to improve the cycling performance on cell voltage and capacity retention and ZNB with SoE is unnecessary to use non-woven separator. SoE is expected to solve the zinc anode problems of ZNB, i.e., both zinc dendrite and non-uniform distribution of zinc/zinc oxide, and may be applied to other zinc rechargeable battery such as zinc-air battery.
This work was financially supported by DOWA Holdings, Co. Ltd.
Ref. [1] M. Morimitsu, Patent No. WO-A1-2021/049609.

Figure 1
(Invited) Grid Scale Energy Storage Poised for Success: Developing New Technologies, Finding New Value Propositions Towards Long Duration Energy Storage
Authors: Gyuk Imre 
Published: September 2023

Energy storage (ES) has become one of the hottest topics to the world’s clean energy future. Research on materials and devices has made successful progress in reducing the cost of Li-ion systems and of several flow battery systems. However, safety, material sustainability, and other factors such as maintenance and decommissioning costs that affect the levelized cost of storage also need to be considered in developing a circular economy to enable reliable, resilient, and flexible electric grid.
ES in the United States (US) has become a resounding success. We have done well in short-duration energy storage, by developing viable business models, evaluation and planning tools, and so on. ES has achieved a great feat in frequency regulation, smoothing renewable energy, demand charge reduction, and substation upgrade deferrals. Going forward, energy storage of medium and long duration as well as short duration with further lower cost will be needed.
The presentation will give a high-level overview on the current state of DOE’s Office of Electricity (OE) supported energy storage technologies. Sodium-ion batteries, aqueous zinc batteries, and several new lines with earth abundant, inexpensive materials, and reliable supply chains and a wide industrial base will be covered. Reliability, safety, and representative examples of the successful deployment of OE technologies across multiple states in US will be touched.
As the return on investment is what really counts for the commercial success of energy storage applications, the presentation also will discuss several real cases of diverse monetized and unmonetized benefit streams from multi-megawatt deployments and how these assessments are needed for new technologies and longer duration applications.
(Invited) Recent Progress Towards Giga-Scale Sodium-Ion Batteries
Authors: Wessells Colin D 
Published: September 2023

Ongoing lithium-ion minerals supply chain volatility has driven price increases and supply shortages, and motivates the development and commercialization of alternative cell chemistries not dependent on those minerals.1-2 Among these alternative chemistries, sodium-ion cells offer promise due to the abundance and low cost of both sodium salts and typical electrode active species such as iron and manganese.2-3 Among sodium-ion electrode systems, Prussian blue analogues offer unique performance advantages including high C-rate charge and discharge, long cycle life, and thermal stability.4-6 Natron Energy has commercialized a unique sodium-ion cell in which each of the anode and cathode active materials are Prussian blue analogues. Products based on these cells are capable of full discharge at up to 60C, full recharge at up to 20C, and operate for tens of thousands of cycles without risk of thermal runaway. However, their energy density is limited by relatively low electrode specific capacities and cell voltage. This presentation will introduce the key materials science concepts that make Prussian blues a commercially viable materials system, as well as those that limit product performance, manufacturability, and the resulting applicable markets. In addition, Natron’s recent progress towards mass manufacturing of cells based on these materials will be summarized. This presentation will conclude with an overview of the key open scientific questions that must be answered for cost effective, giga-factory scale manufacturing of sodium-ion cells to become a reality.
References:

“2H 2021 Battery Metals Outlook: The Long Road to Recovery,” BloombergNEF, December 16, 2021.

“Technology Radar: Sodium-Ion Batteries,” BloombergNEF, October 27, 2022.

“2021 roadmap for sodium-ion batteries,” Nuria Tabia-Ruiz et al, 2021 J. Phys. Energy 3 031503.

“Assessment of the first commercial Prussian blue based sodium-ion battery,” He, Minglong, et al, J. Power Sources 548 (2022) 232036.

“Nickel Hexacyanoferrate Nanoparticle Electrodes for Aqueous Sodium and Potassium Ion Batteries,” Wessells, C.D., et al, Nano Letters 11 (2011) 5421-5425.

“Monovalent manganese based anodes and co-solvent electrolyte for stable low-cost high-rate sodium-ion batteries,” Firouzi, A., et al, Nat. Commun. 9 (2018) 861.