Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are a rapidly emerging energy technology for a low carbon world, providing high efficiency, potential to use carbonaceous fuels, and compatibility with carbon capture and storage. However, current state-of-the-art materials have low tolerance to sulfur, a common contaminant of many fuels, and are vulnerable to deactivation due to carbon deposition when using carbon-containing compounds. In this review, we first study the theoretical basis behind carbon and sulfur poisoning, before examining the strategies toward carbon and sulfur tolerance used so far in the SOFC literature. We then study the more extensive relevant heterogeneous catalysis literature for strategies and materials which could be incorporated into carbon and sulfur tolerant fuel cells.

Strategies for carbon and sulfur tolerant solid oxide fuel cell materials, incorporating lessons from heterogeneous catalysis

Synergy between theory and experiment in structure resolution of low-dimensional oxides

Silicon electrochemistry has the potential to advance sustainable energy solutions by offering environmentally friendly and secure technologies that can contribute to the low-carbon economy. Electr...

Silicon Electrochemistry in Molten Salts

XPS studies of MoO3/Al2O3 and MoO3/SiO2 systems

Isolated molybdenum centers bearing either one (oxomolybdenum system) or two (dioxomolybdenum system) terminal oxo ligands are considered, which are modeled by appropriate mononuclear oxomolybdenum methoxides and oxomolybdasilsesquioxanes. Although the oxidation process in both systems is characterized by the same fundamental steps, that is, dissociative addition of methanol followed by rate-determining hydrogen abstraction from the methoxy group, the mechanism of the oxidation reaction differs in each case. In the oxomolybdenum system, the first step leads to cleavage of a bond in a Mo−O−Si sequence and the formation of a surface molybdenum methoxide species. Hydrogen is then abstracted from the methoxide ligand by a terminal oxo ligand in a process entailing a closed-shell transition structure. In contrast, the preferred mechanism in the dioxomolybdenum system involves a hydroxomolybdenum methoxide intermediate formed without cleavage of a bond in a Mo−O−Si sequence. Furthermore, the hydrogen abstractio...

J. Haber

Papers

Molybdenum Compounds in Heterogeneous Catalysis