Key points
- Membranes transport ions in fuel cells, batteries, and electrolysers but are often not strong enough to stand the harsh operating conditions
- Strengthening membranes, however, usually means trading off valuable electrochemical qualities
- UQ researchers have harnessed intricate nanochannel techniques to show film-thin membranes can be imbued with super strength
Chemical engineers at The University of Queensland are harnessing an intricate building technique to produce hyper-thin film membranes that boost the reliability, efficiency, and lifespan of key clean energy systems.
Dr Zhuyuan Wang and Prof Xiwang Zhang from UQ's School of Chemical Engineering said membranes that transport ions in fuel cells, batteries, electrolysers, were often not strong enough to stand the harsh operating conditions.
"Strengthening these membranes, however, usually means trading off valuable electrochemical qualities, which affects the performance of devices they are used in," Dr Wang said.
"Our research shows that we don't need to make that compromise."
Dr Wang and Professor Zhang used a 'nanoconfinement polymerisation strategy' to control chemical bonding reactions within tiny, nanoscale channels.
"In such a tight space, the polymers have no room to grow in a messy way," Professor Zhang said.
"They are forced to pack neatly and tightly, which makes the membranes extra dense, very strong, and excellent at letting target ions pass through quickly and efficiently."
(Photo credit: The University of Queensland)
The membranes achieve roughly twice the tensile strength than conventional products while maintaining excellent flexibility and can be bent 100,000 times while maintaining mechanical integrity.
Crucially, researchers said this fabrication method can be applied to other thin film technologies.
"The conductivity and selectivity of the new membranes outperform both commercial membranes and those reported in literatures, with an ion exchange capacity nearly 20 per cent higher," Dr Wang said.
Dr Wang said the next step would be encouraging research into how nanochannel polymerisation strategy can be adapted for scalable production.
"By tweaking how we make these small pieces of film we have the potential to improve the efficiency, power output, and operational stability of a number of electrochemical devices for decarbonisation," Dr Wang said.
The research was published in Nature Synthesis.
Collaboration and acknowledgements
Professor Zhang is the endowed chair of the UQ Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation and centre director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide (GetCO2), both of which are based at UQ's School of Chemical Engineering. Dr Wang is a postdoctoral researcher with the UQ Dow Centre and a postdoctoral research associate with GetCO2. This study also involved collaborators at UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and researchers based at The University of Melbourne, Nanjing Tech University, The University of Edinburgh, and The National University of Singapore.
