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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Bipolar Membranes for Ion Management in (Photo)Electrochemical Energy Conversion

Conspectus (Photo)electrochemical energy conversion is important in the development of a carbon-neutral energy economy because it can provide a pathway for mitigating the intermittency of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. In order to operate efficiently, these technologies, which include photoelectrochemical cells, water and CO 2 electrolyzers, fuel cells, and redox flow batteries, require fast charge transfer kinetics at the electrode/electrolyte interface as well as robust ion management in the electrolyte. In conventional electrolyzers and fuel cells, the electrolyte is strongly acidic or basic and ionic current is carried by H + or OH – ions. In contrast, photoelectrodes and electrocatalysts for water splitting are often studied in buffered solutions. The question of ion balance in these systems led us to analyze the polarization losses due to ion concentration gradients in cells that employed various buffer–membrane combinations. Continuously driving the buffer ions across an ionomer membrane not only lowers the buffer capacity of an aqueous electrolyte but also introduces pH gradients that result in significant energy losses. To address the problem, we and other groups have studied the use of reverse-biased bipolar membranes (BPMs) in (photo)electrolytic cells. BPMs consist of an anion exchange layer (AEL) laminated with a cation exchange layer (CEL) and are usually equipped with a catalytic layer in between to accelerate the water dissociation reaction. At the AEL/CEL interface, water dissociates into protons and hydroxide ions, which replenish those consumed at the cathode and anode. Compared to conventional water electrolyzers with proton/anion exchange membranes (PEM/AEM), BPM electrolyzers provide the unique advantage of continuously operating the cathode and anode under different pH conditions, which is desirable when the two electrode reactions have different pH requirements. BPMs also enable the use of buffered electrolytes at pH values that are optimized for electrode stability and product selectivity in applications such as CO 2 electrolysis. Product crossover losses and CO 2 pumping can be dramatically reduced in BPM-based CO 2 electrolyzers, relative to conventional alkaline membranes, by electrostatic repulsion (of anionic products) and electroosmotic drag (for neutral products). BPM-based gas fed CO 2 electrolyzers can achieve high current density, but they suffer from low Faradaic efficiency (FE) due to the acidic local environment of the CEL. This problem can be mitigated by adding an aqueous buffering layer or by creating a weak acid cation exchange film on the CEL face of the membrane. The use of BPMs in fuel cells and redox flow batteries offers some interesting advantages. Configurations with both reverse and forward bias have been studied, but forward bias has been favored due to material compatibility, reaction kinetics, and thermodynamic considerations. The net reaction at the AEL/CEL interface is the acid–base neutralization reaction, which has a high inherent reaction rate constant, but in the BPM is limited to a nanometric space-charge layer and requires efficient catalysis to achieve high current density. Understanding the mechanism of the acid–base neutralization and the opposite process, the water dissociation reaction, will be essential for improving the performance of forward-biased BPMs. In conclusion, this Account reviews our current understanding of the working mechanisms of BPMs and discusses how we can use them to effectively manage ions for various (photo)electrochemical applications.

Yan, Zhifei↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modification of the Coordination Environment of Active Sites on MoC for High-Efficiency CH 4 Production

Modulating the coordination environment of active sites on catalyst surfaces is crucial to developing effective catalysts and controlling catalysis, but it is highly challenging. Guided by our first-principles calculations, we experimentally accomplish the modification of the coordination environment of active sites on MoC nanoparticle surfaces by anchoring pyridinic N atom rings of holey graphene on Mo atoms. The rings produce electrostatic forces that enable the tuning of the Mo sites' affinity to reaction intermediates, which passivates Mo hollow sites, activates Mo top sites and reduces the over-adsorption of OH on the Mo active sites, as predicted by the calculations. The atomic-level modification is well confirmed by atomic-resolution imaging, high-resolution electron tomography, synchrotron soft X-ray spectroscopy and operando electrochemical infrared spectroscopy. Consequently, the Faradaic efficiency for CO 2 reduction to CH 4 is enhanced from 16% to 89%, a record high efficiency so far, in aqueous electrolyte. Meantime, it also exhibits a negligible activity loss over 50 h.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cooperative Effects Associated with High Electrolyte Concentrations in Driving the Conversion of CO2 to C2H4 on Copper

Compared to a conventional electrolyte concentration of 1 M HCOOK, the use of a highly concentrated 7.1 M HCOOK electrolyte increases the Faradaic efficiency (FE) ratio of C2H4/CO from 2.2 +- 0.3 to 18.3 +- 4.8 at -1.08 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) on a Cu gas-diffusion electrode. Based on electrochemical analysis and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulation, the identity and concentration of the cation and anion play more important roles in controlling the CO2R reaction pathway than the bulk CO2 solubility and the bulk pH of electrolytes. In situ attenuated reflectance surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS) suggests that, unlike 1 M HCOOK, the *CO-bridge-binding mode on Cu is dominant in 7.1 M HCOOK electrolyte, which potentially results in less CO release and higher yield of C2H4. This study demonstrates that although we can tailor the electrolyte composition to shift product selectivity, the factors that control the product selectivity are numerous and cannot be distilled down into one correlated property-reactivity relationship.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Pulsed-Potential Electrolysis Enhances Electrochemical C–N Coupling by Reorienting Interfacial Ions

The electrochemical processing of anthropogenic CO 2 is an emerging technology aimed at utilizing renewable energies to synthesize valuable chemicals. Recently, developments in broadening the scope of the CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) by enabling heteroatom coupling have surged with a focus on C–N bond formation. Herein, we investigate the factors that govern the selectivity and activity in synthesizing urea from environmentally malignant chemical feedstocks (CO 2 and NO 3 – ). Through a combination of electrolyte optimization and pulsed potential electrolysis, electrochemical urea production was optimized to a Faradaic efficiency of 60.4% with current densities reaching as high as 310 μA cm –2 . This work was further supported by in situ surface enhanced infrared absorbance spectroscopy that reveals the formation of C–N-related species at low overpotentials. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the reaction progresses between early reduction intermediates for the CO 2 RR and NO 3 RR and offered insights into the impacts of pulsed-potential on substrate transport.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Electrocatalytic Reductive Amination of Aldehydes and Ketones with Aqueous Nitrite

The electrocatalytic utilization of oxidized nitrogen waste for C–N coupling chemistry is an exciting research area with great potential to be adopted as a sustainable method for generation of organonitrogen molecules. The most widely used C–N coupling reaction is reductive amination. In this work, we develop an alternative electrochemical reductive amination reaction that can proceed in neutral aqueous electrolyte with nitrite as the nitrogenous reactant and via an oxime intermediate. We develop a selection criterion for nitrite reduction electrocatalysts suited for oxime electrosynthesis and, in doing so, find Pd to be a highly efficient catalyst for this reaction, reaching an oxime Faradaic efficiency of 82% at −0.21 V vs the reversible hydrogen electrode. The aliphatic or aromatic structure of the carbonyl reactant impacts the efficacy of the catalyst, with aromatic substrates leading to suppressed oxime formation and detrimental reduction of the carbonyl to the alcohol. We developed a Pb/PbO electrocatalyst that selectively performs oxime reduction in the neutral aqueous electrolyte. With acetone as a model substrate, we demonstrate an efficient one-pot, two-step electrochemical reaction for the conversion of acetone to isopropyl amine with 85% yield and 50% global Faradaic efficiency.

catalysts↗
DOE OSTI2024

Modeling Planar Electrodes and Zero–Gap Membrane Electrode Assemblies for CO 2 Electrolysis

Multiphysics modeling enables probing of conditions inside a CO 2 electrolyzer that are difficult to measure, such as local concentrations and pH, as well as rapid testing of possible design changes. A one-dimensional model for a zero-gap membrane electrode assembly (MEA) CO 2 electrolyzer was developed with the assumption that catalyst layers interact with the membrane ionomer such that the ionomer affects the underlying kinetics. The kinetics for bicarbonate reacting to form hydrogen are fit using a planar electrode model for silver with an ionomer coating. The MEA model results are validated against experimental studies for current density and product selectivity. Flooding of the cathode is modeled using saturation curves, and results show that blocked pores in the microporous layer play a significant role in limiting the mass transport at high potentials (>2.8 V). Sensitivity studies showed that CO Faradaic efficiency can be increased by decreasing catalyst layer thickness and porosity, and decreasing KHCO 3 concentration.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Prolonged Stability of Pb-Catalyzed CO 2 Electroreduction to Methyl Formate in Acidic Methanol

Electrochemical CO 2 reduction from renewable energy is a promising route to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from waste sources while generating value-added products. CO 2 electroreduction in methanol is particularly interesting due to the increased CO 2 solubility compared to water and the propensity to form methyl formate, a product absent in aqueous electrolysis. Here, four factors have been identified as critical to achieving prolonged high selectivity for methyl formate production on a Pb cathode in methanol: high pH near the electrode, low bulk pH, low water content, and regeneration of Pb 2+ sites. Increasing concentration of the formic acid product was observed to induce a selectivity shift towards hydrogen, which was mitigated by the in-situ conversion of the formic acid to methyl formate via an esterification reaction. Furthermore, co-electrolysis of CO 2 with dilute molecular oxygen (4% O 2 ) led to Pb catalyst repair through in-situ surface oxidation. Using CO 2 and dilute O 2 along with single-pass catholyte flow to maintain a low formic acid concentration, sustained high selectivity for methyl formate was attained at ~60% faradaic efficiency at -20 mA cm -2 for over 72 hours.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Recovering carbon losses in CO 2 electrolysis using a solid electrolyte reactor

The practical implementation of electrochemical CO 2 reduction technology is greatly challenged by notable CO 2 crossover to the anode side, where the crossed-over CO 2 is mixed with O 2 , via interfacial carbonate formation in traditional CO 2 electrolysers. Here we report a porous solid electrolyte reactor strategy to efficiently recover these carbon losses. Furthermore, by creating a permeable and ion-conducting sulfonated polymer electrolyte between cathode and anode as a buffer layer, the crossover carbonate can combine with protons generated from the anode to re-form CO 2 gas for reuse without mixing with anodic O 2 . Using a silver nanowire catalyst for CO 2 reduction to CO, we demonstrated up to 90% recovery of the crossover CO 2 in an ultrahigh gas purity form (>99%), while delivering over 90% CO Faradaic efficiency under a 200 mA cm -2 current. A high continuous CO 2 conversion efficiency of over 90% was achieved by recycling the recovered CO 2 to the CO 2 input stream.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Ketjenblack-Supported and Unsupported ZrO 2 –ZrN Nanoparticle Systems for Enabling Efficient Electrochemical Nitrogen Reduction to Ammonia

Artificial N 2 fixation via the electrocatalytic nitrogen (N 2 ) reduction reaction (NRR) has been recently promoted as a rational route toward reducing energy consumption and CO 2 emission as compared with the traditional Haber–Bosch process. Nevertheless, optimizing NRR relies on developing highly efficient electrocatalysts. Herein, we report on the reliable and reproducible synthesis of two promising electrocatalysts in either the presence or absence of Ketjenblack (KB), namely, ZrO 2 –ZrN@KB and ZrO 2 –ZrN systems, synthesized through the nitriding of Zr. Both materials had never previously been considered for NRR, to the best of our knowledge. Nevertheless, both of these electrocatalysts incorporated a combination of tetragonal ZrO 2 , ZrON, and cubic ZrN and showed excellent activity and durability toward NH 3 formation. Moreover, the maximum NH3 production rate of 84.1 μg h –1 mg –1 at -0.7 V vs a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) was achieved with the ZrO 2 –ZrN electrocatalyst with an impressive Faradaic efficiency of 21.2% at -0.6 V vs RHE, indicating a high selectivity associated with the NRR. Additionally, the catalysts demonstrated excellent stability during the electrolysis process and recycling tests. Here we postulate that the combination of exposed active sites of ZrN and ZrO 2 likely contributes to the enhanced NRR performance attributed to ZrO 2 –ZrN.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Breaking adsorption-energy scaling limitations of electrocatalytic nitrate reduction on intermetallic CuPd nanocubes by machine-learned insights

The electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO 3 RR) to ammonia is an essential step toward restoring the globally disrupted nitrogen cycle. In search of highly efficient electrocatalysts, tailoring catalytic sites with ligand and strain effects in random alloys is a common approach but remains limited due to the ubiquitous energy-scaling relations. With interpretable machine learning, we unravel a mechanism of breaking adsorption-energy scaling relations through the site-specific Pauli repulsion interactions of the metal d-states with adsorbate frontier orbitals. The non-scaling behavior can be realized on (100)-type sites of ordered B2 intermetallics, in which the orbital overlap between the hollow *N and subsurface metal atoms is significant while the bridge-bidentate *NO 3 is not directly affected. Among those intermetallics predicted, we synthesize monodisperse ordered B2 CuPd nanocubes that demonstrate high performance for NO 3 RR to ammonia with a Faradaic efficiency of 92.5% at –0.5 V RHE and a yield rate of 6.25 mol h –1 g –1 at –0.6 V RHE . This study provides machine-learned design rules besides the d-band center metrics, paving the path toward data-driven discovery of catalytic materials beyond linear scaling limitations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Chemical upgrade of carbon monoxide to acetate on an atomically dispersed copper catalyst via CO-insertion

Electrochemical conversion of small molecules such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and carbon monoxide (CO) to high-value multi-carbon products (C 2+ ) offers a chemical upgrade approach for fuels and chemical feedstock production using renewable energy, in the possible absence of the petrochemical industry under the new energy system such as hydrogen economy. Identifying robust and efficient electrocatalysts to selectively produce C 2+ products remains a challenge. In this study, we report a synthetic strategy of atomically dispersing copper atoms on nitrogen-rich porous carbon (Cu–N–C) through pyrolysis of a supramolecular assembly. Benefitting from the unsaturated coordination structure, in KOH electrolyte, the Cu–N–C with a Cu content of 6.9 wt% exhibits a maximum acetate Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 30% with an acetate partial current density as high as 48 mA cm –2 in electrochemical CO reduction. Different from the C–C coupling mechanism on metallic copper, we propose a CO insertion mechanism for the acetate production on the single site copper catalyst.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Bioadaptive Ni single atoms unlock high rate microbial electrosynthesis of isopropanol from CO 2

Hybrid systems that integrate electrochemical CO 2 reduction with microbial upgrading offer a viable route to high value organic compounds from CO 2 at ambient conditions. However, electrocatalyst deactivation in microbial growth media remains a key barrier, limiting efficiency and increasing cost. Here we show that a bioadaptive single-atom nickel catalyst (Ni SAC), coupled with genetically engineered Clostridium ljungdahlii, enables robust electrosynthesis of isopropanol (IPA) from CO 2 via a CO-mediated pathway. Instead of relying on H 2 as an electron carrier, the system applies high-rate CO formation in complex growth media, maintaining a tunable CO Faradaic efficiency up to 92%, which is 9.4 to 52.7 times greater than conventional Ag catalysts. This performance supports stable IPA production at current density of 10.8 A/m 2 and production rate of 161.3 mg/L/day. In situ Raman and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, together with theoretical calculations, indicate that the Ni SAC can resist competing organic adsorption and retain its coordination structure during CO 2 reduction in bioelectrolytes, providing a mechanistic basis for the catalyst stability and integrated process performance.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Asymmetrical C–C Coupling for Electroreduction of CO on Bimetallic Cu–Pd Catalysts

Electroreduction of carbon monoxide (CO) possesses great potential for achieving the renewable synthesis of hydrocarbon chemicals from CO 2 . We report here selective reduction of CO to acetate using Cu–Pd bimetallic electrocatalysts. High activity and selectivity are demonstrated for CO-to-acetate conversion with >200 mA/cm 2 in geometric current density and >65% in Faradaic efficiency (FE). An asymmetrical C–C coupling mechanism is proposed to explain the composition-dependent catalytic performance and high selectivity toward acetate. This mechanism is supported by the computationally predicted shift of the *CO adsorption from the top-site configuration on Cu (or Cu-rich) surfaces to the bridge sites of Cu–Pd bimetallic surfaces, which is also associated with the reduction of the CO hydrogenation barrier. Further kinetic analysis of the reaction order with respect to CO and Tafel slope supports a reaction pathway with *CO–*CHO recombination following a CO hydrogenation step, which could account for the electroreduction of CO to acetate on the Cu–Pd bimetallic catalysts. Furthermore, our work highlights how heteroatomic alloy surfaces can be tailored to enable distinct reaction pathways and achieve advanced catalytic performance beyond monometallic catalysts.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modeling the performance and faradaic efficiency of solid oxide electrolysis cells using doped barium zirconate perovskite electrolytes

Y-doped BaZrO 3 (BaZr 1 x Y x O 3 δ , or “BZY”), a proton-conducting ceramic featuring high bulk conductivity and good chemical stability, is a promising electrolyte material for solid oxide electrolysis cells. Further doping with Ce and/or Yb (creating materials “BCZY” and “BCZYYb”) can improve conductivity and sintering properties, but at significant penalty to cells’ faradaic efficiency (FE). Studies have proposed that reduction of lattice Ce can occur in the hydrogen electrode, which consumes some hydrogen produced by the hydrogen evolution reaction, leading to decreased FE. Despite studies suggesting this phenomenon, the mechanism is largely unknown. In this work, we developed a multiphysics model to study the transport of multiple defect species and the performance of BZY, BCZY, and BCZYYb, capturing the tradeoff between enhanced performance at the cost of FE for BCZY and BCZYYb electrolytes compared to BZY. We also found that increasing the water content of the anode gas supply lowers the current output of the cell but results in better FE. The model, which uses several parameters previously unavailable in the literature, was validated to experiments varying temperature, steam water content, and electrolyte material, as well as two performance metrics (performance curves and FE). Results verify and explain observed trends, informing future work on Ce-doped BZY electrolytes.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Bayesian optimization of dynamic Ce( III ) electrooxidation

Abstract Cerium(III/IV) is a redox couple with promising applications in redox flow batteries and redox‐mediated water electrolyzers, but due to its high oxidation potential, parasitic oxygen evolution can occur and decrease the Faradaic efficiency (FE) of the oxidation reaction. Dynamic potential dosing can help balance the transport limitations and the electrooxidation rates, allowing for control over the cerium(III) concentration near the electrode, enhancing FE. Due to the large number of possible pulsing operating conditions, Bayesian optimization (BO) was used to rapidly identify the optimal potential pulses. With an active pulse voltage of 2.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl, the maximum FE achieved was 0.91 (active pulse time = 5 ms, resting pulse time = 136 ms), underscoring the need for long inactive times for cerium(III) diffusion to the electrode. Furthermore, a multiobjective BO was performed to identify optimal trade‐offs between FE and the partial current density to achieve improvements over constant current operation.

Engineering↗
DOE OSTI2022

Energy-Efficient Microbial Electrochemical Lignin and Alkaline Hydroxide Recovery from DMR Black Liquor

Black liquor is a complex waste stream generated from the fast-expanding biorefinery industry, and the high management cost has been known as a major development barrier. In this work, we demonstrated a rationally designed 4-chamber microbial electrolysis process that was capable of recovering the value-added lignin, NaOH, and H2 products while removing waste organics from the Deacetylation and Mechanical Refining (DMR) black liquor, which could potentially reduce the disposal cost by up to 40%. The lab-scale MEC achieved 52% organic removal from a highly concentrated feedstock (28,960 ± 212 mg/L COD) and recovered 83.2 mM NaOH under a small voltage application (1.2 V). Lignin recovery was observed to be as high as 13.98 +/- 0.28 g/L, and 0.35 L/L/day H2 was produced with a faradaic efficiency of 93.5%. This work provided a good example on how complex liquid waste stream can be valorized via multi-functional microbial electrochemical technology, and how the traditionally unfavored pH gradient in an electrochemical reactor can be manipulated for lignin precipitation and alkaline recovery at the same time. The versatility and good performance in concurrent contaminants removal, lignin precipitation, H2 production and NaOH recovery demonstrate a good potential for microbial electrolysis in black liquor treatment.

BIOMASS FUELS,INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND AN↗