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Los Alamos water removal method helps nanosheet performance
NEWS / IN BRIEF highly efficient gold nanoparticle catalysts for PEM fuel cells. Improving the performance of the catalysts used in PEM fuel cells is key to their commercialisation. Gold nanoparticles are one of the solutions under investigation, but it is very difficult to create a uniform, useful catalyst. Now a research group at the International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER) at Kyushu University has reported a novel method for using a new type of catalyst support. Their recent Open Access article in Scientific Reports shows how wrapping a graphene support in a specially prepared polymer provides an ideal foundation for making uniform, highly active gold nanoparticle catalysts. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at a fuel cell cathode limits the rate at which electricity can be produced. Although current platinum-based catalysts accelerate the reaction, they also catalyse other reactions, and are sensitive to poisoning by the reactants. Gold nanoparticles are surprisingly effective at catalysing the ORR at the fuel cell cathode, without the drawbacks associated with their platinum counterparts. Nevertheless, creating uniformly sized gold nanoparticle catalysts has proven problematic. Previous fabrication methods have produced catalysts with nanoparticle sizes that were too large or too widely distributed for practical use. And efforts to regulate the particle size tended to restrict the gold’s activity or make less stable catalysts. ‘Creating small, well controlled particles meant that we needed to focus on particle nucleation and particle growth,’ says lead author Tsuyohiko Fujigaya, associate professor in the Department of Applied Chemistry. ‘By wrapping the support in the polybenzimidazole polymer we successfully developed with platinum, we created a much better support environment for the gold nanoparticles.’ The team also tested the performance of these novel catalyst structures. Their catalysts had the lowest overpotential yet reported for this type of reaction. ‘The overpotential is a bit like the size of the spark you need to start a fire,’ explains co-author Professor Naotoshi Nakashima. ‘Although we’re obviously pleased with the catalysts’ uniformity, the performance results show this really could be a leap forward for the ORR reaction, and maybe fuel cells as well.’ Contact: Professor Naotoshi Nakashima, International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. Tel: +81 92 802 2840, Email: [email protected], Web: http://nakashima.cstm.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/index.html
Los Alamos water removal method helps nanosheet performance
R
esearchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico have illuminated the critical role of water in forming catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The research provides the first comprehensive understanding of water’s role within graphene oxide nanosheets, and could be the key to designing next-generation carbon nanomaterials with enhanced performance for fuel cells and batteries. ‘The implications of understanding water’s role in achieving high-performance layered materials for energy generation and storage devices will be transformational,’ says Dr Gautam Gupta of the materials synthesis and integrated devices group at Los Alamos. This research – recently published in the journal Science Advances – provides the first comprehensive understanding of water’s role within graphene oxide nanosheets (i.e. functionalised graphene sheets). Graphene oxide is generally synthesised in aqueous solutions, and ‘dry’ graphene oxide films contain a substantial amount of added water between the oxygen-functionalised nanosheets. Gupta and his team demonstrated a simple solvent drying technique to remove water within the sheets, which led to significant changes in their physical structure. Removing the water decreases the distance between the graphitic sheets. The team observed the changes in the concentration of functional groups and the emergence of highly ordered structures. These changes resulted in dramatically enhanced electrocatalytic activity. The research group included scientists from the Materials Physics and Applications, Materials Science and Technology, and Chemistry Divisions at Los Alamos, the University of New Mexico, the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, and Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Kyushu University, I2CNER: http://i2cner.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/
Contact: Dr Gautam Gupta, Materials Physics and Applications Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA. Tel: +1 505 606 0852, Email: [email protected], Web: www.lanl.gov/org/padste/adeps/materialsphysics-applications
Open Access paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep21314
Open Access paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501178
April 2016
IN BRIEF Hyundai plans new fuel cell SUV in 2017 Korean automaker Hyundai apparently has a signed-off design for its next-generation hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, which will be an SUV-type product to launch in 2017, and in right-hand drive for the first time, according to EV Fleet World. The new car will succeed the ix35 Fuel Cell, which will complete its 1000-unit series production run within the next 12 months. It will be a bespoke product based on its own platform, rather than an adapted internal combustion model, or based on the hybrid and electric-only Ioniq launching later this year. The Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell (www.fuelcell. eu) has been commercially available since 2013 [FCB, March 2013, p2]. There are now more than 250 of them on the road in 13 European countries [FCB, December 2015, p11, and see page 5]. Aruba using four fuel cell powered trams The Caribbean island of Aruba has taken delivery of its fourth hydrogen fuel cell powered streetcar (or tram), designed and installed by California-based TIG/m (www.tig-m.com/hydrogen.html). Aruba’s heritage-style streetcars are equipped with a hybrid battery/hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system, and can run for 20 hours without recharging, according to a report in MassTransitMag.com. The first streetcar has been operational on the main street in the capital Oranjestad since December 2012. The second streetcar has been running since July 2013, and last summer the third trolley joined the fleet, taking cruise ship passengers to downtown Oranjestad. Aruba – just off the coast of Venezuela, but part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands – uses wind farms to supply power to the grid, which then charges the batteries onboard the streetcars, and electrolyses water to produce hydrogen for the fuel cells. Audi to lead fuel cell cars for VW Group Audi will lead Volkswagen Group’s development efforts in hydrogen fuel cell cars, according to Automotive News Europe. Audi has assumed the lead function as the group’s ‘centre of excellence’ for fuel cells. Its first fuel cell car could be an SUV, possibly previewed by the h-tron quattro concept car unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January [FCB, February 2016, p2]. While no launch date was given, Audi’s new development chief Stefan Knirsch says that a future Audi fuel cell car would probably look much like its forthcoming electric car, which debuts in 2018 as a full-size SUV, to benefit from the growing popularity of such vehicles.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
11
Los Alamos water removal method helps nanosheet performance
R
esearchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico have illuminated the critical role of water in forming catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The research provides the first comprehensive understanding of water’s role within graphene oxide nanosheets, and could be the key to designing next-generation carbon nanomaterials with enhanced performance for fuel cells and batteries. ‘The implications of understanding water’s role in achieving high-performance layered materials for energy generation and storage devices will be transformational,’ says Dr Gautam Gupta of the materials synthesis and integrated devices group at Los Alamos. This research – recently published in the journal Science Advances – provides the first comprehensive understanding of water’s role within graphene oxide nanosheets (i.e. functionalised graphene sheets). Graphene oxide is generally synthesised in aqueous solutions, and ‘dry’ graphene oxide films contain a substantial amount of added water between the oxygen-functionalised nanosheets. Gupta and his team demonstrated a simple solvent drying technique to remove water within the sheets, which led to significant changes in their physical structure. Removing the water decreases the distance between the graphitic sheets. The team observed the changes in the concentration of functional groups and the emergence of highly ordered structures. These changes resulted in dramatically enhanced electrocatalytic activity. The research group included scientists from the Materials Physics and Applications, Materials Science and Technology, and Chemistry Divisions at Los Alamos, the University of New Mexico, the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, and Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Kyushu University, I2CNER: http://i2cner.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/
Contact: Dr Gautam Gupta, Materials Physics and Applications Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA. Tel: +1 505 606 0852, Email: [email protected], Web: www.lanl.gov/org/padste/adeps/materialsphysics-applications
Open Access paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep21314
Open Access paper: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501178
April 2016
IN BRIEF Hyundai plans new fuel cell SUV in 2017 Korean automaker Hyundai apparently has a signed-off design for its next-generation hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, which will be an SUV-type product to launch in 2017, and in right-hand drive for the first time, according to EV Fleet World. The new car will succeed the ix35 Fuel Cell, which will complete its 1000-unit series production run within the next 12 months. It will be a bespoke product based on its own platform, rather than an adapted internal combustion model, or based on the hybrid and electric-only Ioniq launching later this year. The Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell (www.fuelcell. eu) has been commercially available since 2013 [FCB, March 2013, p2]. There are now more than 250 of them on the road in 13 European countries [FCB, December 2015, p11, and see page 5]. Aruba using four fuel cell powered trams The Caribbean island of Aruba has taken delivery of its fourth hydrogen fuel cell powered streetcar (or tram), designed and installed by California-based TIG/m (www.tig-m.com/hydrogen.html). Aruba’s heritage-style streetcars are equipped with a hybrid battery/hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system, and can run for 20 hours without recharging, according to a report in MassTransitMag.com. The first streetcar has been operational on the main street in the capital Oranjestad since December 2012. The second streetcar has been running since July 2013, and last summer the third trolley joined the fleet, taking cruise ship passengers to downtown Oranjestad. Aruba – just off the coast of Venezuela, but part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands – uses wind farms to supply power to the grid, which then charges the batteries onboard the streetcars, and electrolyses water to produce hydrogen for the fuel cells. Audi to lead fuel cell cars for VW Group Audi will lead Volkswagen Group’s development efforts in hydrogen fuel cell cars, according to Automotive News Europe. Audi has assumed the lead function as the group’s ‘centre of excellence’ for fuel cells. Its first fuel cell car could be an SUV, possibly previewed by the h-tron quattro concept car unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January [FCB, February 2016, p2]. While no launch date was given, Audi’s new development chief Stefan Knirsch says that a future Audi fuel cell car would probably look much like its forthcoming electric car, which debuts in 2018 as a full-size SUV, to benefit from the growing popularity of such vehicles.
Fuel Cells Bulletin
11