Sossina Haile
Northwestern University, IL·Materials Science
Fuel cells convert chemical fuel directly into electricity, and both fuel cells and batteries depend on solid ceramic materials that let ions travel quickly through them. Two projects address different bottlenecks in this area: finding catalysts that speed the key oxygen reaction in a mid-temperature fuel cell without falling apart, and shortening the slow cycle of making and testing new ion-conducting ceramic oxides.
- Fields
Materials Science
Chemistry
Engineering
- Topics
solid acid fuel cells
electrocatalysis
oxygen reduction reaction
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Aug 2028
What they work on
- Build multilayer electrode structures in which ultra-thin, proton-permeable barrier layers stop active catalysts such as palladium and silver from reacting with the CsH2PO4 solid acid electrolyte.
- Determine the pathway by which oxygen combines with protons near 250 °C and why platinum is poorly active in solid acid fuel cells, using voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry of evolved gases.
- Characterize catalyst–electrolyte interfaces and their degradation by X-ray diffraction and scanning and transmission electron microscopy, to support rational selection of higher-activity catalysts.
- Discover new sodium-ion conducting oxides by coupling roughly 10-second ultra-high-temperature sintering with first-principles calculations and high-throughput measurements in a closed-loop framework.
- Establish how composition, sintering conditions and microstructure together govern ion conduction in ceramic oxides, using characterization and microstructural modeling.
More about the research
One project targets solid acid fuel cells, which run near 250 °C and use cesium dihydrogen phosphate (CsH2PO4), a solid that carries protons unusually well, as the electrolyte. At that temperature platinum still reduces oxygen slowly. Palladium and silver look more active but react with the electrolyte and lose activity fast. The proposed fix is a layered electrode with ultra-thin barrier layers that pass protons while keeping catalyst and electrolyte chemically separated. In parallel, the step-by-step route by which oxygen combines with protons will be traced to explain platinum's weak performance. Methods include X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, mass spectrometry of released gases, plus voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. The grant also describes internships for high school and undergraduate students.
Why it matters
More active and stable oxygen-reduction catalysts could make solid acid fuel cells a more practical way to convert fuels to electricity. New sodium-ion conducting ceramics could support sodium batteries, which the grant frames as a cheaper, more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries for storing renewable energy, and the rapid closed-loop workflow could cut the time needed to develop ceramics for batteries and solid-oxide fuel cells.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Martin Harmer
Lehigh University, PA·Materials Science
Discover new sodium-ion conducting oxide ceramics by combining ultra-high-temperature synthesis, which sinters materials in about 10 seconds, with first-principles data-driven computation and high-throughput measurements.
Jason Nicholas
Michigan State University, MI·Materials Science
Test whether the previously observed shift in the wadsleyite-to-ringwoodite transformation can be reproduced in anhydrous Mg2SiO4 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition, using diamond anvil cells with synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy.
Steve Martin
Iowa State University, IA·Materials Science
Prepare and characterize new sodium mixed glass former, mixed oxy-sulfide-nitride glassy solid electrolytes that combine silicon and phosphorus with oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen anions.
The school
Northwestern University: 71 labs on PI Pages, $1.3B a year on research, 536 research doctorates a year.
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