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Solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) industrialization has been developing for many years. Commercial materials such as 8 mol% Y2O3-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95 (GDC), La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ (LSCF), La0.6Sr0.4CoO3−δ (LSC), etc., have been used for many years, but the problem of mismatched thermal expansion coefficients of various materials between cells has not been fundamentally solved, which affects the lifetime of SOECs and restricts their industry development. Currently, various solutions have been reported, such as element doping, manufacturing defects, and introducing negative thermal expansion coefficient materials. To promote the development of the SOEC industry, a direct treatment method for commercial materials—quenching and doping—is reported to achieve the controllable preparation of the thermal expansion coefficient of commercial materials. The quenching process only involves the micro-treatment of raw materials and does not have any negative impact on preparation processes such as powder slurry and sintering. It is a simple, low-cost, and universal research strategy to achieve the controllable preparation of the thermal expansion coefficient of the commercial material La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ (LSCF) through a quenching process by doping elements and increasing oxygen vacancies in the material. Commercial LSCF materials are heated to 800 °C in a muffle furnace, quickly removed, and cooled and quenched in 3.4 mol/L of prepared Y(NO3)3. The thermal expansion coefficient of the treated material can be reduced to 13.6 × 10−6 K−1, and the blank sample is 14.1 × 10−6 K−1. In the future, it may be possible to use the quenching process to select appropriate doping elements in order to achieve similar thermal expansion coefficients in SOECs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simulated interconnect/contact/cathode/cathode support test cell is fabricated to investigate the effectiveness of the high‐entropy alloy as the contact material on the microstructure and the performance of the converted spinel‐based layer. Although the CuMnNiFeCo alloy powder is selected as the contact precursor, it showed good sinterability after sintering at 900°C for 2 h in air. The electrical performance of the contact layer is evaluated by the area‐specific resistance measurement, including isothermal exposure and thermal cycling. The compatibility of the contact layer with adjacent components is investigated through observing the cross‐sectional view of the test cell. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the contact layer in inhibiting Cr migration is also assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) have great application prospects because of their excellent performance, but the long-term applications of the stacks are restricted by the structural degradation under the high-temperature conditions. Therefore, an SOEC degradation model is developed and embedded in a process model of the high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) system to investigate the influence of the stack degradation at the system level. The sensitivity analysis and optimization were carried out to study the influence factors of the stack degradation and system hydrogen production efficiency and search for the optimal operating conditions to improve the hydrogen production efficiency and mitigate the stack degradation. The analysis results show that the high temperature and large current density can accelerate the stack degradation but improve the hydrogen production efficiency, while the high temperature gradually becomes unfavorable in the late stage. The low air-to-fuel feed ratio is beneficial to both the degradation rate and hydrogen production efficiency. The results show that the optimization method can improve the hydrogen production efficiency and inhibit the stack degradation effectively. Moreover, part of the hydrogen production efficiency has to be sacrificed in order to obtain a lower stack degradation rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen production using solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) is a highly efficient and low-carbon pathway to generate high purity hydrogen. However, high working temperatures may result in high thermal stress due to a mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) between components with a nonuniform temperature distribution. Serious stress concentration may lead to structural failure of the SOEC stack. Hence, this work investigated the thermal stress of SOECs through a three-dimensional planar SOEC unit model. A stress analysis method was proposed via a multi-physics coupling model of SOECs using Comsol Multiphysics software. The impacts of voltage, flow direction, water mole fraction, and operating pressure on the thermal stress were evaluated. Numerical results show that the highest maximum principal stress is located in the electrolyte in the SOEC unit. Raising the water mole fraction and the CTE of the electrolyte could reduce the thermal stress if the voltage is below the thermoneutral voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen refueling stations are one of the key infrastructure components for the hydrogen-fueled economy. Skid-mounted hydrogen refueling stations (SHRSs) can be more easily commercialized due to their smaller footprints and lower costs compared to stationary hydrogen refueling stations. The present work modeled hydrogen explosions in a skid-mounted hydrogen refueling station to predict the overpressures for hydrogen-air mixtures and investigate the protective effects for different explosion vent layouts and protective wall distances. The results show that the explosive vents with the same vent area have similar overpressure reduction effects. The layout of the explosion vent affects the flame shape. Explosion venting can effectively reduce the inside maximum overpressure by 61.8%. The protective walls can reduce the overpressures, but the protective walls should not be too close to the SHRS because high overpressures are generated inside the walls due to the confined shock waves. The protective wall with a distance of 6 m can effectively protect the surrounding people and avoid the secondary overpressure damage to the container. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different from low-temperature electrolysis systems, the large power consumption for the balance of plant (BOP) of the reversible solid oxide cell (RSOC) system for a high-temperature operating condition needs to be considered in the determination of the capacity configuration of the hybrid renewable energy (HRE) system. To address this issue, a power-based model of the RSOC system is developed and the corresponding capacity configuration strategy especially for the HRE system is also proposed in this paper. An optimization program of a hybrid energy system model composed of the wind turbines (WT), photovoltaic panels (PV), reversible solid oxide cell (RSOC) system, hydrogen storage tank (HST), and battery are presented to urge the minimization of the total system cost, power redundancy, and power shortage. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is utilized to determine the optimum size and operational energy management within the system. The results show that after the regulation of the energy storage system, the power redundancy and shortage of the hybrid energy system are greatly reduced with the decreases by 85.08% and 64.42%, respectively. Moreover, the power mismatch is still significantly affected by seasons. It is also found that the energy storage efficiency of the RSOC system is within 20% due to the fact that part of the electric energy is consumed by the BOP to maintain the operation of the RSOC system. Thus, more improvements should focus on simplifying the BOP system of the RSOC system and reducing the excess power consumption in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal efficiency of the high‐temperature solid oxide electrolysis cell system for steam electrolysis has drawn extensive concern in the energy conversion field. This work presents a thermodynamic investigation of a high‐temperature steam electrolysis system by conventional and advanced exergy analyses. A steady‐state simulation of a 20 kW high‐temperature steam electrolysis system is performed for system performance analysis. The thermal inefficiency of each component in the system is revealed by conventional exergy analysis. The predictions show the system exergy efficiency is 49.98%, H2‐compressor has the largest exergy destruction (6773.6 W, 39.16% of the total exergy destruction). Through advanced exergy analysis, the impacts of the interactions among components and the technical limitation with each component are considered. The results indicate the H2‐compressor has the highest exergy saving potential owing to the largest avoidable exergy destruction (1935 W), followed by the stack and vapor generator. Thus, the solid oxide electrolysis cell stack, H2‐compressor, and vapor generator have tremendous potential in energy conservation. Advanced exergy analysis also indicates the interactions among components have less influence on the exergy destruction which means most measures toward improving high‐temperature steam electrolysis systems should be taken to improving each component itself rather than interconnections among components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CeO2-based surface modification is established as an effective strategy for improving the electrochemical performance of solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs), but the relevant mechanism has not been fully explored yet. Here, we employ focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy to examine the microstructural evolution of bare nickel-based yttrium-stabilized zirconia (Ni/YSZ) electrode (reference cell) and Gd-doped CeO2 (CGO)-infiltrated Ni/YSZ electrode (optimized cell) before and after 100-h durability test. The initial current density of the optimized cell was 1.16 A cm−2 (at 1.3 V), which was 1.5 times larger than that of the reference cell. The voltage of the reference cell degraded dramatically due to a 1.16% reduction in the volume fraction of Ni, while the optimized cell showed a negligible degradation with a minor change in the volume fraction of Ni. It was confirmed that CGO nanoparticles formed a protective layer on the Ni surface during the electrolysis process, which prevented further evaporation of Ni. Overall, the infiltration of CGO into traditional Ni/YSZ electrode prevented decrease in the triple-phase boundary density and reduced the resistance by providing additional active sites for hydrogen evolution reaction. We believe that this work provides an efficient strategy for developing high-performance and long-term stable SOECs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrochemical reduction of CO2 is a promising route to convert waste products to valuable chemicals. Search for suitable and efficient CO2 reduction electrocatalysts with high C2:C1 selectivity holds great promise. Herein, for the first time we have developed a molten salt oxidized method to modify the morphology and oxidation state of a Cu‐foam catalyst. The catalyst displayed a current density of 30 mA cm−2 (−1.4 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode) and an ethylene/methane ratio of 870. We provide insight into the improved performance of the catalysts by cross section scanning transmission electron microscopy and quasi in situ soft X‐ray spectroscope, which show that copper oxides are surprisingly reconstructed with Cu (I) and Cu (0) on the surface during the reaction. First principle calculations also demonstrate that the partly reduced Cu2O (111) surface has a high reactivity and selectivity for C2+ products. Furthermore, the molten salt treated catalysts could be applied to the direct synthesis of multi‐carbon fuels, including C3‐C4 compounds in high CO2 pressure electrocatalytic reduction. Our results demonstrate that molten salt are both the oxidizing agent and reaction medium, which is a promising approach for synthesis of highly active CO2 electrocatalysts, which may open a new way for industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The energy and power density of conventional batteries are far lower than their theoretical expectations, primarily because of slow reaction kinetics that are often observed under ambient conditions. Here we describe a low‐cost and high‐temperature rechargeable iron–oxygen battery containing a bi‐phase electrolyte of molten carbonate and solid oxide. This new design merges the merits of a solid–oxide fuel cell and molten metal–air battery, offering significantly improved battery reaction kinetics and power capability without compromising the energy capacity. The as‐fabricated battery prototype can be charged at high current density, and exhibits excellent stability and security in the highly charged state. It typically exhibits specific energy, specific power, energy density, and power density of 129.1 Wh kg−1, 2.8 kW kg−1, 388.1 Wh L−1, and 21.0 kW L−1, respectively, based on the mass and volume of the molten salt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Very-large-scale integration (VLSI) architectures for finding the first $W$  $(W>2)$ maximum (or minimum) values are required in the implementation of several applications such as nonbinary low-density-parity-check decoders, K-best multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) detectors, and turbo product codes. In this brief, a parallel radix-sort-based VLSI architecture for finding the first $W$ maximum (or minimum) values is proposed. The described architecture, called Bit-Wise-And (BWA) architecture, relies on analyzing input data from the most significant bit to the least significant one, with very simple logic circuits. One key feature in the BWA architecture is its high level of scalability, which enables the adoption of this solution in a large spectrum of applications, corresponding to large ranges for both $W$ and the size of the input data set. Experimental results, achieved by implementing the proposed architecture on a high-speed 90-nm CMOS standard-cell technology, show that BWA architecture requires significantly less area than other solutions available in the literature, i.e., less than or about 50% in all the considered cases and about 50% in the worst case. Moreover, the BWA architecture exhibits the lowest area–delay product among almost all considered cases. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Gaomiaozi (GMZ) bentonite is regarded as the favorable candidate backfilling material for a potential repository in China. It is important to understand the diffusion behavior of I in GMZ bentonite and compare the diffusion behavior in GMZ and other types of bentonite like MX-80, Avonlea, etc. Therefore, through- and out-diffusion experiments were conducted to obtain the effective diffusion coefficient ( D) and distribution coefficient ( K). A computer code named Fitting for diffusion coefficient (FDP) was used for the experimental data processing and theoretical modeling. At the dry density of GMZ bentonite from 1600-2000 kg/m, the D values of I were (2.4-20.4) ¢ 10 m/s and K values were constants. At dry density above 1800 kg/m, the diffusion behaviors were almost the same, indicating that the anion exclusion was ineffective. Out-diffusion results showed that the species of I may be changed during the diffusion processing. It was probably caused by some organic matters or reducing substances in GMZ bentonite. Since the main composition of bentonite is montmorillonite, similar diffusion parameters were obtained in GMZ and other types of bentonite. The relationship of D and accessible porosity ( ɛ) could be described by Archie's law with exponent n = 1.2-2.8 for I diffusion in bentonite, whereas n = 2.0 in GMZ bentonite. Furthermore, bentonite with the dry density of 1800 kg/m was proposed as the backfilling materials used in the construction of high level radioactivity waste repository. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Fission yeast centromeres, like those of higher eukaryotes, are composed of repeated DNA structures and associated heterochromatin protein complexes, that have a critical function in the faithful segregation of chromosomes during cell division. Cohesin protein complexes, which are essential for sister-chromatid cohesion and proper chromosome segregation, are enriched at centromeric repeats. We have identified a functional and physical link between heterochromatin and cohesin. We find that the preferential localization of cohesins at the centromeric repeats is dependent on Swi6, a conserved heterochromatin protein that is required for proper kinetochore function. Cohesin is also enriched at the mating-type heterochromatic region in a manner that depends on Swi6 and is required to preserve the genomic integrity of this locus. We provide evidence that a cohesin subunit Psc3 interacts with Swi6 and its mouse homologue HP1. These data define a conserved function of Swi6/HP1 in recruitment of cohesin to heterochromatic regions, promoting the proper segregation of chromosomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salal ( Gaultheria shallon) recovers quickly from rhizomes after clear-cut timber harvesting and dominates clearcuts of Tsuga heterophylla and Thuja plicata forests. Thus it contributes to considerable problems in regeneration of these sites in coastal British Columbia, Canada. Based on what is known about other ericaceous plants, we speculated that mycorrhizal fungi of salal play a vital role in the growth and dominance of salal by providing access to organic nitrogen. In this study, the ability of four species of fungi isolated from salal to use different forms of organic nitrogen was tested in pure culture and in association with salal. The organic forms of nitrogen applied were glutamine (an amino acid), glutathione (a peptide), and bovine serum albumin (BSA, a protein). The fungi tested were Oidiodendron maius, Acremonium strictum, and two nonsporulating fungi. Inoculated plants always grew better than noninoculated plants regardless of nitrogen source. Glutamine was used as readily as ammonium nitrogen by all four fungi and the mycorrhizal plants of salal colonized by those fungi. There was considerable variation between fungus species or the plants inoculated with those fungi in using glutathione and BSA. Salal inoculated with O. maius grew better on glutathione than BSA, while A. strictum and unknown 1 produced significantly greater yields of salal on BSA. Colonization rates of salal by all four fungi was higher on glutathione or BSA than on ammonium or glutamine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, CsPbI2Br perovskite thin films were spin-coated on FTO, on which CuPc was deposited by thermal evaporation. The electronic structure at the CsPbI2Br/CuPc interface was examined during the CuPc deposition by in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) measurements. No downward band bending was resolved at the CsPbI2Br side, whereas there is ~0.23 eV upward band bending as well as a dipole of ~0.08 eV identified at the molecular side. Although the hole injection barrier as indicated by the energy gap from CsPbI2Br valance band maximum (VBM) to CuPc highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) was estimated to be ~0.26 eV, favoring hole extraction from CsPbI2Br to CuPc, the electron blocking barrier of ~0.04 eV as indicated by the offset between CsPbI2Br conduction band minimum (CBM) and CuPc lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) is too small to efficiently block electron transfer. Therefore, the present experimental study implies that CuPc may not be a promising hole transport material for high-performance solar cells using CsPbI2Br as active layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encryption is an important step for secure data transmission, and a true random number generator (TRNG) is a key building block in many encryption algorithms. Static random-access memory (SRAM) chips can be easily available sources of true random numbers, benefiting from noisy SRAM cells whose start-up values flip between different power-on cycles. Embarking from this phenomenon, a novel performance (i.e., randomness and throughput) improvement method of SRAM-based TRNG is proposed, and its implementation can be divided into two phases: irradiation exposure and hardware postprocessing. As the randomness of original SRAM power-on values is fairly low, ionization irradiation is utilized to enhance its randomness, and the min-entropy can increase from about 0.03 to above 0.7 in the total ionizing irradiation (TID) experiments. Additionally, while the data remanence effect hampers obtaining random bitstreams with high speed, the ionization irradiation can also weaken this impact and improve the throughput of TRNG. In the hardware postprocessing stage, Secure Hash Algorithm 256 (SHA-256) is implemented on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) with clock frequency of 200 MHz. It can generate National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-22 compatible true random bitstreams with throughput of 178 Mbps utilizing SRAM chip with 1 Mbit memory capacity. Furthermore, according to different application scenarios, the throughput can be widely scalable by adjusting clock frequency and SRAM memory capacity, which makes the novel TRNG design applicable for various Internet of Things (IOT) devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure design is of great value for the performance improvement of solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) to diminish the gap between scientific research and industrial application. A comprehensive multi-physics coupled model is constructed to conduct parameter sensitivity analysis to reveal the primary and secondary factors on the SOEC performance and optimal rib width. It is found that the parameters of the O2 electrode have almost no influence on the optimal rib width at the H2 electrode side and vice versa. The optimized rib width is not sensitive to the electrode porosity, thickness, electrical conductivity and gas composition. The optimal rib width at the H2 electrode side is sensitive to the contact resistance at the interface between the electrode and interconnect rib, while the extremely small concentration loss at the O2 electrode leads to the insensitivity of optimal rib width to the parameters influencing the O2 diffusion. In addition to the contact resistance, the applied cell voltage and pitch width also has a dramatic influence on the optimal rib width of the fuel electrode. An analytical expression considering the influence of total cell polarization loss, the pitch width and the contact resistance is further developed for the benefit of the engineering society. The maximum error in the cell performance between the numerically obtained and analytically acquired optimal rib width is only 0.14% and the predictive power of the analytical formula is fully verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoscale perovskite oxides with enhanced electrocatalytic activities have been widely used as oxygen electrodes of reversible solid oxide cells (RSOC). Here, La0.6Sr0.4FeO3−δ (LSF) nanoscale powder is synthesized via a novel molten salt method using chlorides as the reaction medium and fired at 850 °C for 5 h after removing the additives. A direct assembly method is employed to fabricate the LSF electrode without a pre-sintering process at high temperature. The microstructure characterization ensures that the direct assembly process will not damage the porosity of LSF. When operating as a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), the LSF cell exhibits a peak power density of 1.36, 1.07 and 0.7 W/cm2 at 800, 750 and 700 °C, respectively, while in solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) mode, the electrolysis current density reaches 1.52, 0.98 and 0.53 A/cm2 under an electrolysis voltage of 1.3 V, respectively. Thus, it indicates that the molten salt routine is a promising method for the synthesis of highly active perovskite LSF powders for directly assembled oxygen electrodes of RSOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabricating lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM) ceramics with certain shapes is important for the design and construction of high-temperature energy conversion and storage devices. Here, we describe a low-cost and environmentally friendly method for fabricating LSM ceramics via agar gel casting and high temperature sintering. This new approach uses temperature tuning to fabricate LSM gel bodies, not only by manufacturing in the secondary process but also by remolding and recycling during the gel casting process. The effect of the sintering temperature on the properties of LSM ceramics was investigated as well. As a result, the porosity and compressive strength of LSM ceramics sintered at 1000 °C are ~60% and 5.6 MPa, respectively. When the sintering temperature increases to 1200 °C, the porosity decreases to ~28%, whereas the compressive strength increases to 25 MPa, which is able to meet the requirement of cathode-supported SOFCs (solid oxide fuel cells). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxygen evolution reaction's (OER) poor kinetics is a considerable obstacle to overcome in the development of water‐derived hydrogen fuel. Research into OER catalysts using earth abundant elements is required to achieve desirable catalytic efficiency. Herein, a selection of misfit‐layered calcium cobaltite and transition metal (Mn, Fe, and Cu)‐doped compounds are synthesized and investigated in order to evaluate their potential as OER catalysts in an alkaline environment. It is discovered that Ca3Co4O9 OER activity may be substantially improved through incorporation of Fe, exhibiting low overpotential (331 mV) at 10 mA cm−2 current density, small Tafel slope of 52 mV dec−1, and an exceptional long‐term stability of electrolysis in 1 m KOH alkaline solution >100 h. Moreover, all materials used are systematically studied using a variety of characterization techniques, resulting in enhanced activity, which is attributed to the enhanced electrical conductivity, and optimized proportion of Co (III) and Co (IV), as well as the synergistic effect between Fe with Co. A collection of misfit‐layered calcium cobaltite and transition metal (Mn, Fe, and Cu)‐doped are investigated for their potential as catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). OER activity for Ca3Co4O9 is improved by different valence of transition metal doping, not only by a synergistic effect, but also by the optimized proportion of Co (III) and Co (IV). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]