The Orbitrap is a mass analyzer that employs an electrostatic field to confine ions. The mass of an ion is determined from the frequency of its axial oscillations in the Orbitrap. The Orbitrap has high resolving power and accuracy. However, the electrodes of the Orbitrap have complicated curved shapes. As a consequence the Orbitrap is not easy to miniaturize. In this thesis we have proposed a class of easily machinable cylindrical-electrode structures to mimic the behavior of an Orbitrap. The proposed structure consists of a single cylinder and many coaxial equally spaced thick rings. A detailed numerical simulation of the cylindrical-electrode structure reveals that axial ion oscillations in it have many spurious frequency components in addition to the dominant frequency component. We have carried out a systematic shape optimization that adjusts the dimensions of the structure to minimize the amplitudes of the spurious frequency components of ion motion in the axial direction. The performance of the optimized structure was found to rival that of a practical Orbitrap.

Dans ce mémoire nous discutons le développement de l’électrode de travail d’un bioréacteur électrochimique, dispositif permettant de synthétiser suivant un procédé dit de « Chimie Verte » des substances chimiques à haute valeur ajoutée. L’électrode de travail étant le siège de la synthèse électrocatalytique en jeu, l’optimisation de sa structure a été étudiée dans le but de maximiser l’aire de sa surface active. L’élaboration d’électrodes macroporeuses hautement organisées et de taille définie par les dimensions du prototype du réacteur pilote, a pu être obtenue en utilisant la méthode de Langmuir-Blodgett pour assembler le cristal colloïdal servant de template. La formation de ce dépôt organisé de colloïdes est suivie de l’électrodéposition du matériau d’électrode puis de la dissolution du template afin de révéler la structure macroporeuse. L’immobilisation de l’intégralité du matériel bio-électrocatalytique à l’intérieur des pores a été investiguée dans le but de prévenir la pollution du milieu contenant le produit final d’électrosynthèse par un des constituants redox et d’augmenter la durée de vie du dispositif. Ainsi, des couches ultra-minces de silice électrogénérée et des matrices de polymère électrodéposé ont été étudiées dans le but de préserver et d’optimiser l’activité enzymatique du système qu’elles encapsulent. Une attention particulière a été portée sur la qualité des dépôts au sein des structures poreuses. La procédure d’immobilisation des protéines rédox dans les matrices de silice et de polymère a été en outre associée à un jeu de construction moléculaire qui a permis par l’instauration de diverses interactions électrostatiques, de retenir toutes les espèces responsables de la catalyse à la surface de l’électrode. Enfin, dans le but d’intensifier les réactions catalytiques responsables de la synthèse à réaliser, des nano-particules d’ormodifiées par une couche monomoléculaire d’un médiateur redox ont été incorporées aux différents matériaux d’immobilisation permettant de ce fait d’augmenter les interfaces d’échanges électrochimiques entre matériau conducteur et biomolécules. L’insertion de ces nano-objectscombinée à la nanostructuration du matériau d’électrode a permis de multiplier par plus de 170 fois l’intensité des réactions enregistrées. / The present work deals with the development of the working electrode of an electrochemicalbioreactor. This device enables the green synthesis of high added value chemical compounds. As theelectrochemical synthesis is located at the interface of the working electrode, structural optimizationof this reactor key component is required in order to maximize the available active surface area.Elaboration of highly organized macroporous gold electrodes with a size required by the pilot reactordimensions were obtained with the Langmuir-Blodgett method that was used to assemble a colloidalcrystal as a template. The elaboration of the organized colloidal deposit is first followed by theelectrodeposition of the electrode material, then by the dissolution of the template. The immobilization of the complete bio-electrochemical system inside the electrode pores was investigated in order to prevent pollution of the final product medium by one of the catalytic chaincomponent. This also improves the device life time. Subsequently electrogenerated ultra-thin silicalayers and electrodeposited polymer matrices were studied in order to preserve and optimize the catalytic activity of the redox proteins. In order to enhance the electrocatalytic synthesis, mediatormodified gold nanoparticules were incorporated in the different immobilization matrices. This allowed to increase the area of the electrochemical interface. The combination of the nano-objectincorporation and electrode nano-structuring intensified by a factor of 170 the catalytic process. / Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Entwicklung einer Arbeitselektrode für einenelektrochemischen Bioreaktor, der die umweltfreundliche Synthese von wertvollen chemischenKomponenten ermöglicht. Da die elektrochemische Synthese an der Oberfläche der Arbeitselektrodestattfindet, ist es nötig, den strukturellen Aufbau der Schlüsselkomponente des Reaktors zuoptimieren und die aktive Oberfläche der Elektrode zu erhöhen. Mit Hilfe der Langmuir-BlodgettTechnik wurden kolloidale Kristalle erzeugt, die als Template dienten, um hochgeordnetemakroporöse Goldelektroden, deren Dimensionen von dem Pilotreaktor bestimmt wurden,herzustellen. Nach dem Erzeugen von geordneten kolloidalen Filmen wurde der Zwischenraumzwischen den Partikeln mittels elektrochemischer Abscheidung gefüllt und das Templateanschließend chemisch aufgelöst. In der Folge wurde die Immobilisierung des komplettenbioelektrochemischen Systems im Poreninnenraum untersucht, mit dem Ziel eine Verunreinigung desReaktionsmediums durch eine der katalytischen Komponenten zu verhindern. Die Lebensdauer derElektrode kann so zusätzlich erhöht werden. Es wurde untersucht, inwieweit durch elektrogenerierteultra-dünne Silikaschichten oder durch Elektroabscheidung erzeugte Polymerfilme die katalytischeAktivität der Redoxproteine erhalten und weiter optimiert werden kann. Goldnanopartikel, die miteinem Mediator modifiziert wurden, wurden in die jeweilige Immobilisationsschicht integriert, mitdem Ziel die Effizienz der elektrokatalytischen Synthese zu erhöhen. Auf diese Weise konnte dieaktive elektrochemische Oberfläche der Elektrode weiter erhöht werden. Die Kombination aus einernanostrukturierten Elektrode und Nanoobjekten die in die Immobilisationsschicht eingebettetwurden, führte zu einer Signalerhöhung des katalytischen Prozesses um mehr als eineGrössenordnung.

Dans ce travail des électrodes macro- et mesoporeuses hautement organisées ont été fabriquées grâce à l' électrodéposition dans différents types de template. Des cristaux colloïdaux obtenus par la technique de Langmuir-Blodgett ont été infiltrés par des métaux ou des polymères conducteurs en utilisant l'électrodéposition potentiostatique suivi par la dissolution du template. La taille des pores, ainsi que l'épaisseur du film macroporeux pouvaient être contrôlée respectivement par le diamètre des billes de silice et par des oscillations temporelles du courant. Différentes superstructures colloïdales ont également été produites menant à des électrodes avec des défauts artificiels ou des gradients bien définis en termes de taille des pores. Des couches alternantes de différents métaux ont été déposées avec grande précision dans une monocouche de particules entrainant une modification des propriétés optiques du matériau. La miniaturisation a pu être démontrée par l'élaboration des microcylindres d'or macroporeux qui disposent non seulement d'une plus grande surface active mais aussi d'une plus grande activité catalytique envers la réduction de l'oxygène en comparaison avec leurs homologues non poreux. Dans ce même contexte une cellule électrochimique miniaturisée composé de deux électrodes macroporeuses a été proposée. Par ailleurs du platine mesoporeux a été électrodéposé en présence d`un template de type cristaux liquides lyotropes sur des réseaux de microélectrodes. Grâce à une plus grande surface active par rapport à leurs homologues non poreux des microélectrodes mesoporeuses ont montré une meilleure performance dans l'enregistrement de l' activité neuronale due à un niveau de bruit plus faible. / In the present work template-assisted electrodeposition was used to produce highly ordered macro- and mesoporous electrodes. Colloidal crystals obtained by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique were infiltrated using potentiostatic electrodeposition of metals and conducting polymers followed by removal of the inorganic template. In the resulting macroporous electrodes, the pore diameter was controlled by the size of the silica spheres, while the thickness could be controlled by temporal current oscillations caused by a periodic change of the electroactive area in the template. Various colloidal superstructures were produced in this way leading to electrodes with on purpose integrated planar defects or well-defined gradients in terms of pore size. Furthermore we showed that alternating multilayers of different metals could be deposited with high accuracy into a colloidal monolayer altering the optical properties of the material. Successful miniaturization of the process was demonstrated by elaborating macroporous gold microcylinders showing besides higher active surface areas also increased catalytic activity towards the reduction of oxygen compared to their flat homologues. In this context a miniaturized electrochemical cell composed of two macroporous gold electrodes was also proposed. Finally, mesoporous platinum films were deposited on microelectrode arrays (MEAs) using lyotropic liquid crystals as templates. The increased surface area of mesoporous compared to smooth electrodes led to improved performance in the recording of neuronal activity with MEAs owing to a reduced noise level.

Ces travaux de thèse ont porté sur l’élaboration d’électrodes déformables pour la récupération d’énergie houlomotrice. En effet, la conversion de l’énergie mécanique des vagues en électricité est possible via un système entièrement souple et basé sur la technologie des polymères électroactifs (ou EAP). Ces matériaux ont la capacité de se déformer sous stimuli électrique, d’où la nécessité de développer des matériaux conducteurs déformables. Le matériau EAP choisi pour l’étude est un élastomère silicone. La formulation de composites à matrice élastomère silicone chargée en particules conductrices carbonées (graphite, nanofeuillets de graphite et nanotubes de carbone) est ainsi la piste suivie pour composer des électrodes déformables. Deux méthodes de mélange, en voie fondu, ont été explorées. La première utilise un mélangeur planétaire, et la seconde utilise en plus un mélangeur tri-cylindre. L’influence sur les propriétés électriques des composites, de la méthode de mélange, de la nature de la charge conductrice ainsi du taux de charges, a été analysée. Aussi, l’étude de la percolation électrique ainsi que l’étude des mécanismes de conduction mis en jeux dans les différents composites ont été réalisées, et complétées par l’observation de la morphologie en microscopie optique et en microscopie électronique. Le comportement mécanique des composites en traction a également été analysé. Enfin, les propriétés couplées électro-mécaniques des composites les plus prometteurs ont été testées. Les mesures permettent de proposer une formulation à base de nanotubes de carbone comme électrode déformable. / This PhD work presents the development of stretchable electrodes for wave energy harvesting. Indeed, it is possible to convert the mechanical energy of the waves into electricity thanks to a flexible system based on electroactive polymer (EAP) technology. As EAPs have the ability to deform under electrical stimuli, deformable conductive materials are needed. In this study, the chosen EAP is a silicone elastomer. Composites formulated with silicone elastomer matrix filled with carbonaceous conductive particles (graphite, graphite nanoplatelets and carbon nanotubes) were thus developed. Two mixing methods, by melt compounding, have been explored. The first uses a planetary mixer, and the second uses a three roll-mill. The influence of the mixing method, the nature of the fillers and the filler rate on the electrical properties of the composites has been analyzed. The morphology, as well as the percolation and the conduction mechanisms have been studied. The tensile properties of the composites were also analyzed. Finally, the electromechanical coupled properties of the most promising composites were tested, allowing us to propose a formulation as a stretchable electrode.

Roughly 123 million people worldwide are affected by conditions such as epilepsy, dementia, and cardiovascular diseases. Wearable electrodes are currently used to monitor these conditions short-term. Long-term monitoring would allow for predicting seizures and could be used as a preventive treatment. As opposed to the currently used electrodes, wearables that are intended for long-term use must be soft and flexible in order not to cause harm or discomfort for the user. The electrodes should also have high resolution, meaning that the electrode paths should be as narrow as possible without negatively affecting the performance of the electrode. In this thesis, soft and flexible electrode grids based on silicones are developed using UV laser patterning. Two different methods are evaluated: laser curing of silicones with the addition of a photoinitiator, and laser ablation of conductive composite. The results found in this thesis are that photocuring silicones gives a too low resolution to be useful for patterning soft electrode grids. UV laser ablation on the other hand showed high resolution while the electrodes retained stretchability. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>

The accurate and rapid detection of clinically relevant analytes at the point-of-care (POC) is a crucial element for the increase in our quality of life. There are multiple detection techniques for sensing a target analyte in biological samples. However, electrochemical sensors excel because of their versatility, accuracy and sensitivity. Among the many challenges in the fabrication of electrochemistry-based POC sensors, the miniaturization of the working electrodes is one of the most difficult to overcome. Decreasing the size of the sensors will result in less electroactive surface area (ESA) and, therefore, lower sensitivity. Thus, the design of miniaturized electrodes with high ESA is desired in this research field. The methodology developed in our laboratory to accomplish this goal is based on the fabrication of microstructured gold electrodes (MSEs) by depositing, via sputtering, a gold thin-film onto a pre-stressed polystyrene substrate masked with adhesive vinyl stencils and thermally shrinking the substrate at high temperatures (135-160 °C). In my thesis work, I developed cost-effective sensitive electrochemical platforms using only bench-top approaches. First, the ESA and, thus, the sensitivity of the MSEs were enhanced by using a simple and rapid nano-roughening approach. The ESA of MSEs was increased 4x by applying high voltage pulsing in sulfuric acid. The resulting electrodes possessed high anti-fouling capabilities and excellent response toward the enzyme-free detection of glucose with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.62 mM in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and ascorbic acid. Furthermore, the fabrication cost of the MSEs electrodes was decreased by 5x by replacing the sputtering deposition step with a cost-effective solution-based electroless deposition technique. In this case, the PS substrates were coated with a polydopamine adhesion layer and noble metal films (copper, silver and gold) were subsequently plated. Not only the cost of the gold electrode was substantially reduced but, due to the intrinsic roughness of the surface, the MSEs electrodes obtained via electroless deposition showed a higher ESA than those made via sputtering. Furthermore, the developed electroless method was extended for the fabrication of paper-based sensing devices. The sensing versatility of these surfaces was demonstrated by electrochemically detecting mercury with a 0.27 ppb LOD and by sensing thiophenol via surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The MSEs electrodes fabricated via electroless deposition were subjected to the nano-roughening technique to generate affordable and high ESA electrodes. These platforms were used to design enzyme-based biosensors to accurately detect glucose and urea in complex samples. Glucose was detected in four different types of wine, with matrix interference measured below 10%, and in human serum, with a measured concentration that was not statistically different from that obtained from commercially available biosensors. Urea was detected in human urine and plasma with matrix interferences measured to be below 8% in both cases. We envision that the fabrication techniques developed in this thesis will rapidly grow in the scientific community for the prompt and accurate design of POC electrochemical devices. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

High levels of water stress and increased demand for potable water generated via desalination pose significant challenges for sustainable waste brine management in arid regions. Electrochemical techniques, like brine electrolysis, offer an approach for treating brine, preventing environmentally harmful disposal, and facilitating the recycling of valuable ions found in brine. As the large concentration of ions can precipitate and degrade conventional electrolyzer components, membraneless electrolyzers, which lack membranes, can be an alternative for direct brine electrolysis. The absence of membranes enables operation in the presence of impurities and a wide range of pH environments. However, membraneless electrolyzers suffer from a trade-off between current density and current utilization that stems from undesired back-reactions that arise from the crossover of gaseous and aqueous products between the anode and cathode. In this dissertation work, a combination of in situ high-speed video, colorimetric pH imaging, modeling, and electroanalytical methods were used to evaluate how the performance of a porous flow-through cathode is affected by operating current density, electrolyte flow rate, and choice of catalyst placement on a porous support. It was found that catalyst placement is a key knob to control the location of product generation and thereby minimize product crossover and maximize pH differential. Placing the catalyst on the outer surface of the cathode resulted in an average increase of 51% in current utilization, a metric for measuring crossover, compared to the opposite configuration. This finding is explained by the ability of the porous electrode support to serve as a barrier to suppress crossover for the outward-facing catalyst configuration. In addition, the outward-facing catalyst configuration leads to more stable operation while incurring minor increases (90-170 mV) in overpotentials. For both catalyst configurations, it was also shown that the Damköhler number (𝐷𝑎) is a practical descriptor for predicting operating conditions that maximize the concentration of OH⁻ in the cathode effluent stream. Furthermore, this dissertation evaluated the performance of a platinized cathode within a membraneless electrolyzer in the presence of Mg²⁺ impurities. In a 3-hour stability test at 50 mA cm⁻² during brine electrolysis, electrolytes with Mg²+ concentration below 5 mM showed a negligible influence on cathode performance. Electrolytes with Mg²⁺ concentration below 1.2 mM at similar operating conditions exhibited improved cathode performance compared to Mg-free brine. All learnings during this study were captured in a mathematical model that predicts the tolerance threshold at which the cathode would cease to operate due to accumulations of Mg(OH)₂ deposits at different current densities and superficial velocities. Overall, these studies demonstrated the potential of membraneless electrolyzers as an emerging technology for treating brine and converting it into high-value products. Finally, applying an oxide overlayer to planar electrodes has been demonstrated to improve their stability, activity, and/or selectivity. This is relevant for direct brine electrolysis, as brine contains many impurities that can compromise the integrity of electrodes and promote undesirable reactions, generating toxic products like chlorine gas. However, given that high-surface electrodes are required for industrial applications, it is necessary to develop a method to encapsulate high-surface-area electrodes. Applying nanoscopic oxide encapsulation layers to high-surface-area electrodes such as nanoparticle-supported porous electrodes is not an easy task. This dissertation work demonstrated that the recently developed condensed layer deposition (CLD) method can be used for depositing nanoscopic (sub-10 nm thick) titanium oxide (TiO₂) overlayers onto high surface area platinized carbon foam electrodes. Characterization of the overlayers by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) showed they are amorphous, while X-ray photoelectron microscopy confirmed that they exhibit TiO₂ stoichiometry. Electrodes were also characterized by hydrogen underpotential deposition (Hupd) and carbon monoxide (CO) stripping, demonstrating that the Pt electrocatalysts remain electrochemically active after encapsulation. Furthermore, copper underpotential deposition (Cuupd) measurements for bare Pt and TiO₂-encapsulated Pt electrocatalysts revealed that the TiO₂ overlayer effectively prevented Cu₂+ from reaching the buried, allowing this method to determine the coverage of the TiOx coating. In summary, this portion of the dissertation demonstrated that CLD is a promising method for applying nanoscopic overlayers on high-surface electrodes.

This study focuses on the design, fabrication, and characterization of deterministically engineered, three-dimensional architectures to be used as high-performance electrodes in energy storage applications. These high-surface-area architectures are created by the robotically-assisted sequential electrodeposition of structural and sacrificial layers in an alternating fashion, followed by the removal of the sacrificial layers. The primary goal of this study is the incorporation of these highly laminated architectures into the battery electrodes to improve their power density without compromising their energy density. MEMS technologies, as well as electrochemical techniques, are utilized for the realization of these high-power electrodes with precisely controlled characteristic dimensions. Diffusion-limited models are adopted for the determination of the optimum characteristic dimensions of the electrodes, including the surface area, the thickness of the active material film, and the distance between the adjacent layers of the multilayer structure. The contribution of the resultant structures to the power performance is first demonstrated by a proof-of-concept Zn-air microbattery which is based on a multilayer Ni backbone coated with a conformal Zn film serving as the anode. This primary battery system demonstrates superior performance to its thin-film counterpart in terms of the energy density at high discharge rates. Another demonstration involves secondary battery chemistries, including Ni(OH)2 and Li-ion systems, both of which exhibit significant cycling stability and remarkable power capability by delivering more than 50% of their capacities after ultra-fast charge rates of 60 C. Areal capacities as high as 5.1 mAh cm-2 are reported. This multilayer fabrication approach is also proven successful for realizing high-performance electrochemical capacitors. Ni(OH)2-based electrochemical capacitors feature a relatively high areal capacitance of 1319 mF cm-2 and an outstanding cycling stability with a 94% capacity retention after more than 1000 cycles. The improved power performance of the electrodes is realized by the simultaneous minimization of the internal resistances encountered during the transport of the ionic and electronic species at high charge and discharge rates. The high surface area provided by the highly laminated backbone structures enables an increased number of active sites for the redox reactions. The formation of a thin and conformal active material film on this high surface area structure renders a reduced ionic diffusion and electronic conduction path length, mitigating the power-limiting effect of the active materials with low conductivities. Also, the highly conductive backbone serving as a mechanically stable and electrochemically inert current collector features minimized transport resistance for the electrons. Finally, the highly scalable nature of the multilayer structures enables the realization of high-performance electrodes for a wide range of applications from autonomous microsystems to macroscale portable electronic devices.

Coal can be converted to different chemical products through processes such destructive distillation. The destructive distillation of coal yields coke as the main product with byproducts such as coal tar pitch (CTP). CTP has a wide range of applications, especially in the carbon-processing industries. Typical applications include the manufacture of anodes used in many electrochemical processes, as well as Söderberg electrodes used in different ferroalloy processes. Söderberg electrodes are made from the thermal treatment of Söderberg electrode paste. The Söderberg electrode paste is a mixture of CTP (binding material) and coke/calcined anthracite (filler). Söderberg electrodes are characterised by a baking isotherm temperature. This temperature is located in the baking zone of the Söderberg electrode system. In the baking zone, the liquid paste is transformed into a solid carbonaceous material. Knowing the baking isotherm temperature is essential as it will ensure the safe, profitable and continuous operation of submerged arc furnaces. Thermomechanical analysis (TMA) was used in this study to determine the baking isotherm temperature of CTP samples. The baking isotherm temperature for all samples was found to lie between 450 and 475 °C irrespective of the initial chemical and physical composition of the CTP. TMA was also used to measure the dimensional changes that take place in the binding material (CTP) at temperatures above the baking isotherm. The dimensional changes of 12 CTP samples when heated from room temperature up to a maximum of 1300 °C were measured. The results indicated that all CTP samples shrank by approximately 14% in the first heating and cooling cycle. The second and third heating and cooling cycles gave a small change in dimensions of approximately 2% for all samples. The significant change in dimensions observed for all CTP samples during the first TMA thermal treatment cycle was attributed to the structural rearrangement that takes place within the carbonaceous material. The structural ordering of all CTP samples thermally treated was evaluated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD). XRD is widely used in the determination of crystallinity/amorphousness of carbonaceous materials, interlayer distance (d-spacing), as well as the degree of ordering (DOG) in a given material. For comparison of structural ordering, XRD analysis was also performed on raw (as-received) CTPs, as well as CTPs thermally treated at 475 and 1300 °C. Prebaked electrode graphite was also analysed. From the XRD results, raw CTP was found to be amorphous with no significant ordering. The interlayer spacing (d002) for all raw CTP samples averaged 3.70 Å, compared to 3.37 Å for prebaked electrode graphite. CTPs thermally treated at 1300 °C had a d-spacing of 3.51 Å. The DOG of raw samples was found to be negative which was indicative of the amorphousness of the raw CTP. The DOG increased with an increase in thermal treatment temperature, as was seen from the DOG of CTPs thermally treated at 1300 °C, which was calculated to be approximately -81% for all 12 samples. The calculated DOG for prebaked electrode graphite was 81%. Prior to determining the baking isotherm temperature, as well as the changes in dimensions during thermal treatment, the chemical compositions of the 12 CTP samples were determined. In the chemical composition determination, fundamental properties such as softening point (SP), coking value (CV), toluene and quinoline insolubles (TI and QI, respectively) were evaluated. This was in addition to proximate and ultimate analysis. The information obtained from this diverse characterisation showed significant differences in the chemical composition of the 12 CTPs. By making use of multi-linear regression analysis (MLR), it was possible to predict or calculate less commonly determined characteristics (CV, TI and QI) from the more commonly obtained parameters (proximate and ultimate analysis parameters). It was found that MLR could be used successfully to calculate CV and TI, but less so for QI. Additional chemical composition of CTP was determined by analytical techniques such as Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (NMR). Results from the FT-IR analysis showed that the spectra for all 12 raw CTPs were similar, with differences only being in the FT-IR band intensities. The differences in FT-IR band intensities were supported by NMR analysis data, which gave quantitative information on the different structural parameters found in all CTPs. The structural composition of CTPs changed during thermal treatment, as was shown by the FT-IR analysis performed on raw CTPs samples, CTPs thermally treated at 475, 700, 1000 and 1300 °C, as well as prebaked electrode graphite. / PhD (Chemistry), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In recent years an emphasis has been placed on the development of alternative and clean energy sources to reduce the global use of fossil fuels. One of these alternatives entails the use of H2 as an energy carrier, which can be obtained amongst others using thermochemical processes, for example the hybrid sulphur process (HyS). The HyS process is based on the thermal decomposition of sulphuric acid into water, sulphur dioxide and oxygen. The subsequent chemical conversion of the sulphur dioxide saturated water back to sulphuric acid and hydrogen is achieved in an electrolyser using a platinum coated proton exchange membrane. This depolarised electrolysis requires a theoretical voltage of only 0.158 V compared to water electrolysis requiring approximately 1.23 V. One of the steps in the development of this technology at the North-West University, entailed the establishment of the platinum coating technology which entailed two steps; firstly using newly obtained equipment to manufacture the membrane electro catalyst assemblies (MEA’s) and gas diffusion electrodes (GDE’s) and secondly to test these MEA’s and GDE’s using sulphur dioxide depolarized electrolysis by comparing the manufactured MEA’s and GDE’s to commercially available MEA’s and GDE’s. Different MEA’s and GDE’s were manufactured using both a screen printing (for the microporous layer deposition) and a spraying technique. The catalyst loadings were varied as well as the type and thickness of the proton exchange membranes used. The proton exchange membranes that were included in this study were Nafion 117®, sPSU-PBIOO and SfS-PBIOO membranes whereas the gas diffusion layer consisted of carbon paper with varying thicknesses (EC-TP01-030 – 0.11 mm and EC-TP01-060 – 0.19mm). MEA and GDE were prepared by first preparing an ink that was used both for MEA and GDE spraying. The MEA’s were prepared by spraying various catalyst coatings onto the proton exchange membranes containing 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 mg/cm2 platinum respectively. The GDE’s were first coated by a micro porous carbon layer using the screen printing technique in order to attain a suitable surface for catalyst deposition. Using the spraying technique GDE’s containing 0.3, 0.6, 0.9 mg/cm2 platinum were prepared. After SEM analysis, the MEA’s and GDE’s performance was measured using SO2 depolarized electrolysis. From the electrolysis experiments, the voltage vs. current density generated during operation, the hydrogen production, the sulphuric acid generation and the hydrogen production efficiency was obtained. From the results it became clear that while the catalyst loading had little effect on performance there were a number of factors that did have a significant influence. These included the type of proton exchange membrane, the membrane thickness and whether the catalyst coating was applied to the proton exchange membrane (MEA) or to the gas diffusion layer (GDE). During SO2 depolarized electrolysis VI curves were generated which gave an indication of the performance of the GDE’s and MEA’s. The best preforming GDE was GDE-3 (0.46V @ 320 mA/cm2), which included a GDE EC-TP01-060, while the best preforming MEA’s were NAF-4 (0.69V @ 320mA/cm2) consisting of a Nafion117 based MEA and PBI-1 (0.43V @ 320mA/cm2) made from a sPSU-PBIOO blended membrane. During hydrogen production it became clear that the GDE’s produced the most hydrogen (best was GDE-02 a in house manufactured GDE yielding 67.3 mL/min @ 0.8V), followed by the Nafion® MEA’s (best was NAF-4 a commercial MEA yielding 57.61 mL/min @ 0.74V) and the PBI based MEA’s. , (best was PBI-2 with 67.11 mL/min @ 0.88V). Due to the small amounts of acid produced and the SO2 crossover, a significant error margin was observed when measuring the amount of sulphuric acid produced. Nonetheless, a direct correlation could still be seen between the acid and the hydrogen production as had been expected from literature. The highest sulphuric acid concentrations produced using the tested GDE’s and MEA’s from this study were the in-house manufactured GDE-01 (3.572mol/L @ 0.8V), the commercial NAF-4 (4.456mol/L @ 0.64V) and the in-house manufactured PBI-2 (3.344mol/L @ 0.8V). The overall efficiency of the GDE’s were similar, ranging from less than 10% at low voltages (± 0.6V) increasing to approximately 60% at ± 0.8V. For the MEA’s larger variation was observed with NAF-4 reaching efficiencies of nearly 80% at 0.7V. In terms of consistency of performance it was shown that the Nafion MEA’s preformed most consistently followed by the GDE’s and lastly the PBI based MEA’s which for the PBI based membranes can probably be ascribed to the significant difference in thickness of the thin PBI vs. the Nafion based membranes. In summary the study has shown the results between the commercially obtained and the in-house manufactured GDE’s and MEA’s were comparable confirming the suitability of the coating techniques evaluated in this study. / MSc (Chemistry), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014