PIRE: Integrated Computational Materials Engineering for Active Materials and Interfaces in Chemical Fuel Production

在可再生能源技术能够在全球范围内实施之前，一个主要的挑战是找到一种方法来储存由风能和太阳等间歇性来源产生的能量。现有技术不能满足储能需求，需要新的解决方案。一种有潜力满足日益增长的需求的有吸引力的技术是固体氧化物电解，即可再生能源产生的电能被转化为化学能，并储存起来供以后使用。固体氧化物电解槽(SOEC)是一种复杂的集成材料系统，它利用电能作为输入来催化产生化学燃料的化学反应。然而，目前SOEC的寿命只有几百小时，这主要是因为界面和整体上的退化和故障。在这个项目中，由伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校、加州大学伯克利分校、美国西北大学和日本九州大学组成的国际合作伙伴关系已经形成，以展示支持SOEC技术的综合方法。该奖项独一无二地将KU的世界级实验资源和专业知识与UCB和NU的免费实验专业知识以及伊利诺伊州的世界级计算设施和专业知识相结合，以解决能源储存的重大挑战。该项目将产生持久的制度影响，包括美国和日本之间的长期协同合作；在国际合作背景下为学生和早期职业调查人员提供前沿跨学科主题的广泛研究和培训，以及与K-12教师、科学博物馆和夏令营的接触。综合的PERY项目将推进包括材料、物理、化学、工程和计算科学在内的多个学科领域的研究，并创造一个为未来提供动力的全球公民。该项目将开发一种集成的计算和实验方法来设计高效、可靠、低温、延长寿命的SOEC。该方案的创新之处在于：1)新型质子和氧离子导电电解质的计算和实验设计。这项工作将涉及到设计和开发具有足够稳定性、工作温度在600AC或更低、在可接受的电流密度下具有更高的能量效率和高质子导电性的质子导电氧化物。2)基于化学和微观结构的新型电极的计算和实验设计。这项工作将涉及基于微结构优化和材料活性的高活性电极的设计和开发。此外，还将详细了解新电极，如Ruddlesden-Popper结构和有序钙钛矿结构。3)SOEC中退化模式的计算模型和实验验证。这将涉及对电解液/电极界面退化模式的全面了解，重点是温度和外加电位与阳离子分离、气泡形成、分层和断裂之间的关系。计算的努力与实验的努力紧密相连，所有的计算预测都将得到实验的验证。本科生、研究生和博士后研究人员将参与丰富的美日交流项目，他们的国际研究和教育经验将为他们在全球工作场所担任具有挑战性的职位做好准备。外展活动将集中在K-12参与、教师培训、通过科学博物馆传播知识和夏令营。该奖项由计算机和信息科学与工程局高级网络基础设施部共同资助。

A major challenge before renewable energy technologies can be implemented at global scales is to find a way to store the energy produced by intermittent sources such as the wind and the sun. Existing technologies fail to meet the energy storage demand and novel solutions are needed. An attractive technology that can potentially meet the growing demand is solid oxide electrolysis, where electrical energy produced by renewables is converted into chemical energy and stored for later use. Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) are complex, integrated material systems that use electrical energy as input to catalyze chemical reactions that produce chemical fuels. However, at present SOECs last for only a few hundreds of hours primarily because of degradation and failure at interfaces and in the bulk. In this project, an international partnership, comprising the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of California at Berkeley, and Northwestern University in the U.S. and Kyushu University in Japan, has been formed to demonstrate an integrated approach to enabling SOEC technology. This PIRE award uniquely combines the world-class experimental resources and expertise at KU with the complimentary experimental expertise at UCB and NU, and the world-class computational facilities and expertise at Illinois to solve the energy storage grand challenge. This project will have a lasting institutional impact, including long-term synergistic collaborations between U.S. and Japan; extensive research and training for students and early career investigators in cutting-edge interdisciplinary topics in an international collaborative context, and outreach to K-12 teachers, science museums and summer camps. The integrated PIRE project will advance research in a number of disciplinary areas, including materials, physics, chemistry, engineering and computational science, and create a global citizenry to power the future. This project will develop an integrated computational and experimental approach to design efficient, reliable, low temperature, extended lifetime SOECs. The novel aspects of the proposal are: 1) Computational and experimental design of novel proton and oxygen-ion conducting electrolytes. This effort will involve the design and development of proton conducting oxides with sufficient stability, operating temperature of 600?aC or lower, higher energy efficiencies at acceptable current density and high proton conductivity. 2) Computational and experimental design of novel electrodes focusing on chemistry and microstructure. This effort will involve the design and development of high-activity electrodes based on microstructure optimization and materials activity. In addition, a detailed understanding of new electrodes such as the Ruddlesden-Popper structures and ordered perovskites will be developed. 3) Computational models and experimental validation of degradation modes in SOECs. This will involve the development of a comprehensive understanding of degradation modes at electrolyte/electrode interfaces focusing on relationships between temperature and applied potential to cation segregation, bubble formation, delamination and fracture. The computational effort is strongly tied with the experimental effort and all computational predictions will be validated with experiments. Undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral researchers will be engaged in a rich US-Japan exchange program and their PIRE research and education experience will prepare them for challenging positions in the global workplace. Outreach activities will focus on K-12 engagement, teacher training, disseminating knowledge via science museums, and summer camps.This award is cofunded by the Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure, Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering.