Membranes for Electrochemical Devices

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 6455

Special Issue Editor

CSIC-UPV, Instituto de Tecnología Química, Valencia, Spain
Interests: electrochemistry; hydrogen; energy production; renewables; materials science; electrolysis; fuel cells; greenhouse gases reduction

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Presently, the majority of the world’s energy comes from fossil fuel sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas, resulting in the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). The most prevalent GHG is CO2, and it accounts for more than 50% of industrial emissions. Transitioning away from CO2 producing technologies will require the support of renewable energy sources. However, production from renewable technologies like wind turbines and solar panels fluctuates greatly, depending on the time of day or on weather patterns. To overcome this intermittency and create a stable renewable grid, the world’s energy storage capacity must be massively increased. Hydrogen can be a key tool for energy storage, as it is a flexible energy carrier that can be utilized by fuel cells in order to produce electricity. Furthermore, it is an important feedstock in many important industrial processes. Although H2 is abundant in nature, hydrogen production today is very energy intensive. The most conventional methods for H2 production are steam reforming, coal gasification, or partial oxidation of heavy hydrocarbons. These traditional techniques use a fossil fuel feedstock, leading to CO2 generation. Thus, new electrochemical devices can play an important role in the future years for GHG reduction in both energy production and in the intensification processes.

This Special Issue aims to collect key contributions about the recent developments of new materials and devices for energy production systems that would shift the world’s energetic transition, and the subsequent reduction of greenhouse gases.

Dr. Laura Navarrete
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • membranes
  • electrochemical devices
  • hydrogen
  • electroreduction
  • materials

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 5008 KiB  
Article
Comparative Study of Epoxy-CsH2PO4 Composite Electrolytes and Porous Metal Based Electrocatalysts for Solid Acid Electrochemical Cells
by Laura Navarrete, Chung-Yul Yoo and José Manuel Serra
Membranes 2021, 11(3), 196; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11030196 - 11 Mar 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1554
Abstract
Electrochemical cells based on acid salts (CsH2PO4) have attracted great interest for intermediate temperature, due to the outstanding proton conductivity of acid salts. In this work, electrodes and electrolyte were optimized following different strategies. An epoxy resin was added [...] Read more.
Electrochemical cells based on acid salts (CsH2PO4) have attracted great interest for intermediate temperature, due to the outstanding proton conductivity of acid salts. In this work, electrodes and electrolyte were optimized following different strategies. An epoxy resin was added to the CsH2PO4 material to enhance the mechanical properties of the electrolyte, achieving good conductivity, enhanced stability, and cyclability. The electrodes configuration was modified, and Ni sponge was selected as active support. The infiltration of different oxide nanoparticles was carried out to tailor the electrodes resistance by promoting the electrocatalyst activity of electrodes. The selection of a cell supported on the electrode and the addition of an epoxy resin enables the reduction of the electrolyte thickness without damaging the mechanical stability of the thinner electrolyte. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membranes for Electrochemical Devices)
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11 pages, 3204 KiB  
Article
Baker’s Yeast-Based Microbial Fuel Cell Mediated by 2-Methyl-1,4-Naphthoquinone
by Juste Rozene, Inga Morkvenaite-Vilkonciene, Ingrida Bruzaite, Antanas Zinovicius and Arunas Ramanavicius
Membranes 2021, 11(3), 182; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11030182 - 06 Mar 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2131
Abstract
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) efficiency depends on charge transfer capability from microbe to anode, and the application of suitable redox mediators is important in this area. In this study, yeast viability experiments were performed to determine the 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (menadione (MD)) influence on different [...] Read more.
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) efficiency depends on charge transfer capability from microbe to anode, and the application of suitable redox mediators is important in this area. In this study, yeast viability experiments were performed to determine the 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (menadione (MD)) influence on different yeast cell species (baker’s yeast and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells). In addition, electrochemical measurements to investigate MFC performance and efficiency were carried out. This research revealed that baker’s yeast cells were more resistant to dissolved MD, but the current density decreased when yeast solution concentration was incrementally increased in the same cell. The maximal calculated power of a designed baker’s yeast-based MFC cell anode was 0.408 mW/m2 and this power output was registered at 24 mV. Simultaneously, the cell generated a 62-mV open circuit potential in the presence of 23 mM potassium ferricyanide and the absence of glucose and immobilized MD. The results only confirm that MD has strong potential to be applied to microbial fuel cells and that a two-redox-mediator-based system is suitable for application in microbial fuel cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membranes for Electrochemical Devices)
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13 pages, 4405 KiB  
Article
Influences of pH and EDTA Additive on the Structure of Ni Films Electrodeposited by Using Bubble Templates as Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction
by Xiangtao Yu, Jun Yang, Xiangyu Ren and Zhuyin Sui
Membranes 2021, 11(3), 165; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11030165 - 27 Feb 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2206
Abstract
The structure of Ni films is essential to their electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The pH value and EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid) additive are important factors for the structure control of electrodeposited metal films due to their adjustment of metal [...] Read more.
The structure of Ni films is essential to their electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The pH value and EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid) additive are important factors for the structure control of electrodeposited metal films due to their adjustment of metal electrocrystallization and hydrogen evolution side reactions. The structures of Ni films from 3D (three-dimensional) porous to compact and flat structure are electrodeposited by adjusting solution pH values or adding EDTA. It is found that when pH value increases from 7.7 to 8.1, 3D porous films change to compact films with many protrusions. Further increasing the pH value or adding 0.1 M EDTA causes compact and flat films without protrusions to appear. When pH ≤ 7.7, hydrogen bubbles with large break-off diameter are easily adsorbed on film surface acting as porous structure templates, and the electroactive ion species, Ni2+ and Ni(NH3)n2+ complexes with low coordination number (n ≤ 3), possess high reduction overpotential, which is beneficial to forming protrusions and smaller particles. So, porous Ni films are electrodeposited. In solutions with pH ≥ 8.1 or 0.1 M EDTA, Ni(NH3)n2+ complexes with high coordination number (6 ≥ n ≥ 3) and hexadentate chelate are formed. Due to the improved wettability, bubbles with a small break-off diameter rapidly detach the film surface resulting in strong stirring. The reduction overpotential is reduced, leading to the formation of larger particles. Therefore, the solution leveling ability increases, and it is difficult to form protrusions, thus it forms a compact and flat film. The 3D porous film exhibits excellent catalytic performance for HER due to the large catalytic activity area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Membranes for Electrochemical Devices)
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