Neutron and synchrotron characterisation techniques for hydrogen fuel cell materials
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Date
2021-11-24
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Abstract
Hydrogen fuel cells and other renewable energy technologies have specific materials and functional needs
which can be more fully understood using neutron and synchrotron characterisation techniques. In this presentation,
a materials which has applications in proton exchange membranes is studied with a variety to
techniques to develop a comprehensive understanding of the functional-structural relationship. The materials
used here is phosphotungstic acid (HPWA) stabilised in an ‘inert’ mesoporous silica host material. This
aim of this research is to develop an understanding of the interaction between the HPWA and the silica and
whether different structures or surface chemistries have advantageous or detrimental effects.
Two silica symmetries used were Ia3 ̅d (face centred cubic bi-continuous) and P6mm (2D hexagonal with cylindrical
pores) which were vacuum impregnated with solutions of HPWA in a range of concentrations. The
resulting powder samples were then analysed using small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), inductively coupled
plasma emissions spectroscopy (ICP-OES), nitrogen gas adsorption/desorption, near edge X-ray absorption
fine structure (NEXAFS/X-ray absorption near edge structure/XANES) of the O and Si k-edges, Fourier transform
infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, and then formed into a disk using polyethylene as
the binder for electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).
The insights gained from this systematic study indicate that the surface chemistry of the silica host has a significant
effect on the performance, uptake and interactions with the HPWA anions, where lower concentrations
of HPWA result in stronger host:HPWA interactions but lower conductivity. © The Authors
Description
Keywords
Neutrons, Synchrotrons, Hydrogen, Fuel cells, Hydrogen fuel cells, Materials, Tungstophosphoric acid, Small angle scattering, Silica
Citation
Lamb, K., Kirby, N., Bartlett, J., Peterson, V., Appadoo, D., Jiang, S. P., & De Marco, R (2021). Neutron and synchrotron characterisation techniques for hydrogen fuel cell materials. Presentation to the ANSTO User Meeting, 24-26 November 2021, Online. Retrieved from: https://events01.synchrotron.org.au/event/146/contributions/4341/contribution.pdf