It has been technologically challenging to create an anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE) that can operate efficiently without liquid electrolytes, that is, in pure water. Prior improvements in AEMWE have been limited to the development of membranes and catalysts. Here, we report an alternative solution to increase the AEMWE performance from a different perspective by developing highly conductive, macroporous layers (MPLs) as multifunctional liquid/gasdiffusion layers (LGDLs).

Measuring biological samples by atom probe tomography (APT) in their natural environment, i.e. aqueous solution, would take this analytical method, which is currently well established for metals, semi-conductive materials and non-metals, to a new level. It would give information about the 3D chemical structure of biological systems, which could enable unprecedented insights into biological systems and processes, such as virus protein interactions. For this future aim, we present as a first essential step the APT analysis of pure water (Milli-Q) which is the main component of biological systems. After Cryo-preparation, nanometric water tips are field evaporated with assistance by short laser pulses. The obtained data sets of several tens of millions of atoms reveal a complex evaporation behavior. Understanding the field evaporation process of water is fundamental for the measurement of more complex biological systems. For the identification of the individual signals in the mass spectrum, DFT calculations were performed to prove the stability of the detected molecules.

Hydrogen as an energy carrier is very versatile in energy storage applications. Developments in novel, sustainable technologies towards a CO2-free society are needed and the exploration of all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) as well as solid-state hydrogen storage applications based on metal hydrides can provide solutions for such technologies. However, there are still many technical challenges for both hydrogen storage material and ASSBs related to designing low-cost materials with low-environmental impact. The current materials considered for all-solid-state batteries should have high conductivities for Na+, Mg2+ and Ca2+, while Al3+-based compounds are often marginalised due to the lack of suitable electrode and electrolyte materials. In hydrogen storage materials, the sluggish kinetic behaviour of solid-state hydride materials is one of the key constraints that limit their practical uses. Therefore, it is necessary to overcome the kinetic issues of hydride materials before discussing and considering them on the system level. This review summarizes the achievements of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) innovative training network (ITN) ECOSTORE, the aim of which was the investigation of different aspects of (complex) metal hydride materials. Advances in battery and hydrogen storage materials for the efficient and compact storage of renewable energy production are discussed.

Atom Probe Tomography (APT) is currently a well-established technique to analyse the composition of solid materials including metals, semiconductors and ceramics with up to near-atomic resolution. Using an aqueous glucose solution, we now extended the technique to frozen solutions. While the mass signals of the common glucose fragments CxHy and CxOyHz overlap with (H2O)nH from water, we achieved stoichiometrically correct values via signal deconvolution. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to investigate the stability of the detected pyranose fragments. This paper demonstrates APT’s capabilities to achieve sub-nanometre resolution in tracing whole glucose molecules in a frozen solution by using cryogenic workflows. We use a solution of defined concentration to investigate the chemical resolution capabilities as a step toward the measurement of biological molecules. Due to the evaporation of nearly intact glucose molecules, their position within the measured 3D volume of the solution can be determined with sub-nanometre resolution. Our analyses take analytical techniques to a new level, since chemical characterization methods for cryogenically-frozen solutions or biological materials are limited.

The impact of phase transformation from spinel-structured Li4Ti5O12 to rocksalt-type Li7Ti5O12 on the electrochromic properties of the material is studied. Thin films of Li4Ti5O12 are deposited on platinum-coated substrates using radio-frequency-ion beam sputtering. In situ and ex situ optical spectroscopy (in reflectance geometry) is performed along with electrochemical characterization. In situ measurements demonstrate the reversible electrochromic behavior of the deposited thin films and the effect of the change of lithium content on the reflectance spectrum. Ex situ measurements quantify the optical constants of thin films for different charge states by modeling the reflectance spectrum with a Clausius–Mossotti relation. The model reveals the presence of one or two dominant resonant frequencies in the case of Li4Ti5O12 or Li7Ti5O12, respectively, in the UV/visible/NIR region of light. The single strong resonance in the case of Li4Ti5O12 is assigned to transition from O 2p to Ti t2g, that is, across the band gap, whereas for the Li7Ti5O12 phase, the two resonances correspond to the electronic transitions from O 2p to empty Ti t2g and from filled Ti t2g to empty Ti eg. The concentration dependence of the derived dielectric constants points out a fast lithium ion transport through the grain boundaries, thereby segregating a conductive lithium-rich phase at the grain boundaries. This increases the electronic conductivity of the thin films in the initial stages of intercalation and explains the debated mechanism of the fast discharge/charge capability of Li4Ti5O12 electrodes.

to these advantages, they contribute to a wide range of applications, such as in the field of photocatalysis, [5] gas sensing, [6] lithium-ion batteries, [7] supercapacitors, [8] and biomaterials. [9] In addition, nanostructured TiO 2 , especially in its anatase polymorph, has attracted great attention in the field of photovoltaics due to its wide bandgap, high electron mobility, and long chargecarrier lifetime. [10][11][12][13] As electron transport layer in solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells and hybrid solar cells, nanostructured TiO 2 films with a high surface-to-volume area and interconnected network are desirable because they hold the potential to improve the generation of charge carriers and inhibit electron-hole recombination. [14,15] The combination of sol-gel chemistry with an amphiphilic block copolymer acting as a structure-directing template was proven to be a promising route for producing nanostructured TiO 2 films. [16][17][18][19][20] The obtained sol-gel solution can be directly deposited by various film fabrication techniques, such as spin coating, [21] solution casting, [22] doctor blading, [23] spray coating, [24] or inkjet printing. [25] To date, most attention of such kind of wet chemical TiO 2 film fabrication has only been paid to laboratory-scale Mesoporous titania films with tailored nanostructures are fabricated via slot-die printing, which is a simple and cost-effective thin-film deposition technique with the possibility of a large-scale manufacturing. Based on this technique, which is favorable in industry, TiO 2 films possess the similar advantage with polymer semiconducting devices like ease of large-scale production. The titania morphologies, including foam-like nanostructures, nanowire aggregates, collapsed vesicles and nanogranules, are achieved via a so-called block-copolymer-assisted sol-gel synthesis. By adjusting the weight fraction of reactants, the ternary morphology phase diagram of the printed titania films is probed after template removal. The surface and inner morphology evolutions are explored with scanning electron microscopy and grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering, respectively. Special focus is set on foam-like titania nanostructures as they are of especial interest for, e.g., solar cell applications. At a low weight fraction of the titania precursor titanium(IV)isopropoxide (TTIP), foam-like titania films are achieved, which exhibit a high uniformity and possess large pore sizes. The anatase phase of the highly crystalline titania films is verified with X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy.

Rationally designed free-standing and binder-free Raney-type nickel-molybdenum (ni-Mo) electrodes produced via atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) are developed by correlating APS process parameters with the microstructure of electrodes and their electrochemical performance in alkaline media. the results revealed that the electrode morphology and elemental composition are highly affected by the plasma parameters during the electrode fabrication. It is found that increasing plasma gas flow rate and input plasma power resulted in higher in-flight particle velocities and shorter dwell time, which in result delivered electrodes with much finer structure exhibiting homogeneous distribution of phases, larger quantity of micro pores and suitable content of Ni and Mo. Tafel slope of electrodes decreased with increasing the in-flight particles velocities from 71 to 33 mV dec −1 in 30 wt.% KOH. However, beyond a critical threshold in-flight velocity and temperature of particles, electrodes started to exhibit larger globular pores and consequently reduced catalytic performance and higher Tafel slop of 36 mV dec −1 in 30 wt.% KOH. Despite slightly lower electrochemical performance, the electrodes produced with highest plasma gas flow and energy showed most inter-particle bonded structure as well as highest stability with no measurable degradation over 47 days in operation as HER electrode in 30 wt.% KOH. The Raney-type Ni-Mo electrode fabricated at highest plasma gas flow rate and input plasma power has been tested as HER electrode in alkaline water electrolyzer, which delivered high current densities of 0.72 and 2 A cm −2 at 1.8 and 2.2 V, respectively, representing a novel prime example of HER electrode, which can synergistically catalyze the HER in alkaline electrolyzer. This study shows that sluggish alkaline HER can be circumvented by rational electrode composition and interface engineering. Hydrogen has attracted a lot of attention as a clean energy carrier, due to growing pressure on emissions and depleting reserves of fossil fuel. Alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) is one of the most mature and widely used electrolysis technologies for hydrogen production due to the inexpensive non-precious metal electrodes, low cost components and high durability 1-4. However, AWE operate at significantly lower current densities compared to proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE). This can be due to this reason that not only the oxygen

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