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Bachelor theses / Master theses / Diploma theses

Influence of ionomer content on development of separation processes for recycling of water electrolyzers (Id 354)

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Green hydrogen can be produced by water electrolysis technology, which needs critical raw materials such as platinum and iridium in their cells. Since many countries including Germany target a large scale of green hydrogen production, the development of recycling processes of the component is important for a functional circular economy. Especially development of fine particle separation processes is necessary to reach over 90 % of the recovery.
Among three types of water electrolyzer, the used materials in polymer electrolyte membrane(PEM) have different hydrophobic characteristics. Anodic electrode materials including membrane have hydrophilic surfaces and the materials on the cathode show hydrophobic characteristics. Hence, particles from the water electrolyzer can be separated by their hydrophobicity contrast. However, an ionomer is used as a binder material in the catalysts ink, which consists of a hydrophobic chain and a chain with a hydrophilic sulfonic acid group at the end. The content of the ionomer and the particles might affect their hydrophobicity and it will play an important role in the further development of separation processes. The influence of the ratio of ionomer on carbon support has been studied in terms of morphology and electrochemistry performance but not on their surface properties. The purpose of this work is to investigate the influence of different ionomer contents on the wetting behavior of the components.
In this study, particles with six different ionomer contents from 15 to 40 % will be prepared. Their surface properties can be measured by using analytic particle solvent extraction(APSE), bubble attachment test, and selective agglomeration test with the hydrophobic binder.

Department: Processing

Contact: Dr. Rudolph, Martin, Dr. Mütze, Thomas, Ahn, Sohyun

Requirements

Field of study: process engineering, chemical engineering, or a related field
Good communication skills in English
Interest in experimental work
Enjoy scientific and independent work

Conditions

Place of work: Freiberg
Start is possible immediately by agreement
Duration according to the respective study regulations
Scientific excellence and extensive professional networking opportunities.