Hydrogen/functionalized benzoquinone for a high-performance regenerative fuel cell as a potential large-scale energy storage platform

The redox flow battery (RFB) is a suitable option for electricity storage due to its high energy efficiency, scalability and relative safety. However, the limited metallic resources for redox materials and the high cost in systems such as the all-vanadium RFB are major challenges for wider application. Organics may be sourced more abundantly and have lower prices than metal based redox couples. In this work a regenerative fuel cell involving relatively inexpensive organic redox couples is demonstrated. The electrochemical properties of 1,2-dihydrobenzoquinone-3,5-disulfonic acid (BQDS) are characterised by cyclic voltammetry and linear-sweep voltammetry under hydrodynamic conditions. A regenerative fuel cell using 0.65 M BQDS in 1 M H2SO4 as positive electrolyte and gaseous hydrogen (1 bar) as negative redox-material results in an open circuit cell voltage of 0.86 V, a power density of 122 mW/cm2, and an energy density of 10.90 Wh L-1 without considering the volume occupied by the hydrogen. Very promising performance with an energy efficiency >60% at 100 mA cm-2 for 200 cycles is reported. New organic redox species resistant to side reactions could facilitate the use of this new system in practical applications. The use of hydrogen may also contribute to reduced side reactions of the organic redox associated with degradation in the presence of oxygen

Hierarchical carbon aerogel modified carbon fiber composites for structural power applications

The desire to reduce overall weight in devices is a key driver for perpetual material development; the ability to combine composites with energy storage functions/capabilities which simultaneously provide structural integrity has the potential to supersede monofunctional components. To achieve this ambition, the multifunctional structure must perform both mechanical and energy storage functions sufficiently, but often there is a trade off in performance which is a significant challenge to overcome. Carbon aerogels have been shown to contribute positively to (electro-chemical double layer) capacitive performance due to an increased surface area in multifunctional carbon fiber based composite electrodes, but have also been shown to reduce mechanical properties; the addition of nanoscale reinforcers, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene or alike, with their superlative electrical and mechanical properties are proposed to address these concerns and create a truly hierarchical structure suitable for structural power applications

Oxygen reduction at the silver/hydroxide-exchange membrane interface

A solid-state cell is used to study the electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction at the silver/hydroxide-exchange membrane interface. The catalyst/membrane interface exhibits improved performance in comparison to a catalyst/aqueous sodium hydroxide interface. Surprisingly, the half-wave potential for oxygen reduction is shown to shift 185 mV higher at the silver/hydroxide-exchange membrane interface than for the silver/aqueous hydroxide solution interface, and the exchange current density is significantly higher at 1.02 × 10−6 A m−2. On a cost per performance basis, silver electrocatalysts in a hydroxide-exchange membrane fuel cell may provide better performance than platinum in a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell. Keywords: Oxygen reduction reaction, Electrocatalyst, Alkaline membrane, Solid-state cell, Silve

Structural supercapacitor composite technology demonstrator

Structural power composites, a class of multifunctional materials, have significant potential to facilitate lightweighting and accelerate widespread electrification in sustainable transportation. In civil aircraft, a bank of supercapacitors can provide power to open the doors in an emergency. Structural power composite fuselage components near the doors could provide this power and eliminate the mass and volume needed for the supercapacitors. To demonstrate this concept, we designed and manufactured a multifunctional component representative of a fuselage rib, which powered the opening and closing of a desktop scale composite aircraft door. This paper provides information about structural supercapacitor technology demonstrators, discusses the fabrication of this demonstrator and concludes by providing an insight into the future challenges that need to be addressed to realise structural power composite components

Identification and manipulation of dynamic active site deficiency-induced competing reactions in electrocatalytic oxidation processes

A detrimental competition between the urea oxidation reaction (UOR) and oxygen evolution reaction is identified. Strategies are proposed to alleviate such competition and boost the performance of the UOR and other organic compound oxidation reactions

A cost-effective alkaline polysulfide-air redox flow battery enabled by a dual-membrane cell architecture

With the rapid development of renewable energy harvesting technologies, there is a significant demand for long-duration energy storage technologies that can be deployed at grid scale. In this regard, polysulfide-air redox flow batteries demonstrated great potential. However, the crossover of polysulfide is one significant challenge. Here, we report a stable and cost-effective alkaline-based hybrid polysulfide-air redox flow battery where a dual-membrane-structured flow cell design mitigates the sulfur crossover issue. Moreover, combining manganese/carbon catalysed air electrodes with sulfidised Ni foam polysulfide electrodes, the redox flow battery achieves a maximum power density of 5.8 mW cm−2 at 50% state of charge and 55 °C. An average round-trip energy efficiency of 40% is also achieved over 80 cycles at 1 mA cm−2. Based on the performance reported, techno-economic analyses suggested that energy and power costs of about 2.5 US$/kWh and 1600 US$/kW, respectively, has be achieved for this type of alkaline polysulfide-air redox flow battery, with significant scope for further reduction

Tuneable 2D self-assembly of plasmonic nanoparticles at liquid|liquid interfaces

Understanding the structure and assembly of nanoparticles at liquid|liquid interfaces is paramount to their integration into devices for sensing, catalysis, electronics and optics. However, many difficulties arise when attempting to resolve the structure of such interfacial assemblies. In this article we use a combination of X-ray diffraction and optical reflectance to determine the structural arrangement and plasmon coupling between 12.8 nm diameter gold nanoparticles assembled at a water|1,2-dichloroethane interface. The liquid|liquid interface provides a molecularly flat and defect-correcting platform for nanoparticles to self-assemble. The amount of nanoparticles assembling at the interface can be controlled via the concentration of electrolyte within either the aqueous or organic phase. At higher electrolyte concentration more nanoparticles can settle at the liquid|liquid interface resulting in a decrease in nanoparticle spacing as observed from X-ray diffraction experiments. The plasmonic coupling between the nanoparticles as they come closer together is observed by a red-shift in the optical reflectance spectra. The optical reflectance and the X-ray diffraction data are combined to introduce a new 'plasmon ruler'. This allows extraction of structural information from simple optical spectroscopy techniques, with important implications for understanding the structure of self-assembled nanoparticle films at liquid interfaces.</p

Manufacture and characterisation of a structural supercapacitor demonstrator

Structural power composites, a class of multifunctional materials, may facilitate lightweighting and accelerate widespread electrification of sustainable transportation. In the example considered in this paper, structural power composite fuselage components could provide power to open aircraft doors in an emergency and thus reduce or eliminate the mass and volume needed for supercapacitors currently mounted on the doors. To demonstrate this concept, an 80 cm long multifunctional composite C-section beam was designed and manufactured, which powered the opening and closing of a desktop-scale composite aircraft door. Twelve structural supercapacitor cells were made, each 30 cm × 15 cm × 0.5 mm, and two stacks of four cells were integrated into the web of the beam by interleaving and encasing them with low-temperature-cure woven carbon fibre/epoxy prepreg. This article culminates by considering the engineering challenges that need to be addressed to realise structural power composite components, particularly in an aerospace context

Establishing reactivity descriptors for platinum group metal (PGM)-free Fe–N–C catalysts for PEM fuel cells

We report a comprehensive analysis of the catalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) reactivity of four of today's most active benchmark platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) iron/nitrogen doped carbon electrocatalysts (Fe–N–Cs). Our analysis reaches far beyond previous such attempts in linking kinetic performance metrics, such as electrocatalytic mass-based and surface area-based catalytic activity with previously elusive kinetic metrics such as the active metal site density (SD) and the catalytic turnover frequency (TOF). Kinetic ORR activities, SD and TOF values were evaluated using in situ electrochemical NO2− reduction as well as an ex situ gaseous CO cryo chemisorption. Experimental ex situ and in situ Fe surface site densities displayed remarkable quantitative congruence. Plots of SD versus TOF (“reactivity maps”) are utilized as new analytical tools to deconvolute ORR reactivities and thus enabling rational catalyst developments. A microporous catalyst showed large SD values paired with low TOF, while mesoporous catalysts displayed the opposite. Trends in Fe surface site density were linked to molecular nitrogen and Fe moieties (D1 and D2 from 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy), from which pore locations of catalytically active D1 and D2 sites were established. This cross-laboratory analysis, its employed experimental practices and analytical methodologies are expected to serve as a widely accepted reference for future, knowledge-based research into improved PGM-free fuel cell cathode catalysts.EC/H2020/779366/EU/Critical Raw material ElectrocatalystS replacement ENabling Designed pOst-2020 PEMFC/CRESCENDOTU Berlin, Open-Access-Mittel - 202