Here is some recent research from Japan that could lead to a breakthrough in developing new fuel cells using Rudium as a key material. The paper was piblished in the journal Chemistry of Materials.
Rubidium can help with clean energy technologies such as fuel cells, sensors, and catalysts. Wikimedia commons
Japanese researchers from the Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) have developed a new material that could dramatically improve fuel cell technology. Containing rubidium (Rb), this new material has a high conductivity, meaning it can more efficiently transport oxygen ions.
According to the team, led by Professor Masatomo Yashima at the Department of Chemistry, this new material could help make cleaner energy technologies, like solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), more practical and affordable.
SOFCs are a type of fuel cell that generates electricity using different fuels, not just hydrogen. They can run on natural gas and other fuels, making them more flexible for real-world use.
While this sounds like a no-brainer, SOFCs have some inherent problems that have, until now, held back adoption. A potential game-changer for SOFCs
These fuel cells are expensive to make, have suffered from poor durability in the past, and need very high temperatures to work properly. To this end, the Japanese team sought better materials that allow oxygen ions (O²⁻ to move quickly within the fuel cell.
The researchers chose rubidium as an ideal solution because of its unique properties. Firstly, it has a relatively large atomic size, meaning it has more “free space” in its structure.
This means oxygen ions can move around freely within a structure containing rubidium. The second is that it tends to have a relatively low activation energy, meaning it takes less energy to get ions to move.
This also makes the materials more conductive. Using computer simulations, the team analyzed 475 different rubidium-based materials and found that Rb₅BiMo₄O₁₆ was the most promising candidate.
After synthesizing the compound, the team found it was 29 times higher than a commonly used SOFC material (yttria-stabilized zirconia) at 572°F (300°C). They also found that the movement of oxygen ions was helped by the shape and movement of MoO₄ tetrahedral units (a specific crystal structure inside the material).
Experiments also showed that the material remained stable in different conditions, including high temperatures, humid air, and water. This discovery could help SOFCs operate at lower temperatures, making them cheaper, more durable, and easier to use in various energy applications. Rubidium fuel cells now possible
“Surprisingly, Rb5BiMo4O16 exhibited a high oxide-ion conductivity of 0.14 mS/cm at 300 °C, which is 29 times higher than that of yttria-stabilized zirconia at 300 °C and comparable to the leading oxide-ion conductors with similar tetrahedral moieties,” Yashima explained regarding the promising results.
If further research confirms these results, rubidium-based materials might play a significant role in future clean energy technologies like fuel cells, gas sensors, and catalysts.
This new rubidium-containing material could revolutionize energy technology by improving the performance and affordability of solid oxide fuel cells and helping the transition toward cleaner energy sources.
“The discovery of Rb-containing oxides with both high conductivity and high stability may open a new avenue for [developing] oxide-ion conductors,” Yashima said.
“We expect that these advances will lead to new applications and markets for Rb, as well as contribute to lowering the operating temperature and reducing the cost of solid oxide fuel cells.”
The study has been published in the journal Chemistry of Materials.
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to move quickly within the fuel cell.
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