Foglia Fabrizia, Lyonnard Sandrine, Sakai Victoria García, Berrod Quentin, Zanotti Jean-Marc, Gebel Gérard, Clancy Adam J, McMillan Paul F
Department of Chemistry, Christopher Ingold Laboratory, University College London, 20 Gordon St., London WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom.
University Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, IRIG-SyMMES, 38000 Grenoble, France.
J Phys Condens Matter. 2021 May 28;33(26). doi: 10.1088/1361-648X/abfc10.
Design and implementation of advanced membrane formulations for selective transport of ions and molecular species are critical for creating the next generations of fuel cells and separation devices. It is necessary to understand the detailed transport mechanisms over time- and length-scales relevant to the device operation, both in laboratory models and in working systems under realistic operational conditions. Neutron scattering techniques including quasi-elastic neutron scattering, reflectivity and imaging are implemented at beamline stations at reactor and spallation source facilities worldwide. With the advent of new and improved instrument design, detector methodology, source characteristics and data analysis protocols, these neutron scattering techniques are emerging as a primary tool for research to design, evaluate and implement advanced membrane technologies for fuel cell and separation devices. Here we describe these techniques and their development and implementation at the ILL reactor source (Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France) and ISIS Neutron and Muon Spallation source (Harwell Science and Technology Campus, UK) as examples. We also mention similar developments under way at other facilities worldwide, and describe approaches such as combining optical with neutron Raman scattering and x-ray absorption with neutron imaging and tomography, and carrying out such experiments in specialised fuel cells designed to mimic as closely possible actualconditions. These experiments and research projects will play a key role in enabling and testing new membrane formulations for efficient and sustainable energy production/conversion and separations technologies.
设计和实现用于离子和分子选择性传输的先进膜配方对于制造下一代燃料电池和分离装置至关重要。有必要了解在实验室模型以及实际运行条件下工作系统中与装置运行相关的时间和长度尺度上的详细传输机制。包括准弹性中子散射、反射率和成像在内的中子散射技术在全球范围内的反应堆和散裂源设施的束线站中得以应用。随着新型且改进的仪器设计、探测器方法、源特性和数据分析协议的出现，这些中子散射技术正成为研究设计、评估和实施用于燃料电池和分离装置的先进膜技术的主要工具。在此，我们以法国格勒诺布尔劳厄 - 朗之万研究所（ILL）反应堆源以及英国哈韦尔科学与技术园区的 ISIS 中子与μ子散裂源为例，描述这些技术及其发展与应用。我们还提及全球其他设施正在进行的类似进展，并介绍诸如将光学与中子拉曼散射相结合、将 X 射线吸收与中子成像及断层扫描相结合，以及在旨在尽可能逼真模拟实际条件的专门燃料电池中开展此类实验等方法。这些实验和研究项目将在推动和测试用于高效可持续能源生产/转换及分离技术的新型膜配方方面发挥关键作用。
