Water splitting technology is an innovative strategy to face the dependency on fossil fuels and, at the same time, address environmental pollution issues. Electrocatalysts seem to be the better option to improve water separation efficiency and satisfy the commercial-scale demand for hydrogen. Therefore, the design and fabrication of heterostructures with a high affinity for achieving water splitting have been proposed. In this review, the application of several electrocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions is presented and discussed in detail. A review of the recent advances in water separation using noble metals such as Pt-, Ir-, and Ru-based electrodes is presented, followed by a highlighting of the current trends in noble-metal-free electrocatalysts and novel preparation methods. Furthermore, it contemplates some results of a hybrid organic molecule–water electrolysis and photoelectrochemical water splitting. This review intends to give insight into the main trends in water splitting and the barriers that need to be overcome to further boost the efficiency of the main hydrogen and oxygen generation systems that ultimately result in large-scale applications. Finally, future challenges and perspectives are addressed, considering all the novelties and the proposed pathways for water splitting.
Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) are used to protect turbine components from extreme environments and to allow for the turbine system to operate at temperatures beyond the melting point of the underlying superalloy blade. Existing in situ temperature measurement methods for high temperature evaluation have inherent uncertainties that impose important safety margins. Improving the accuracy of temperature measurements on the materials in operating conditions is key for more reliable lifetime predictions and to increase turbine system efficiencies. For this objective, phosphor thermometry shows great potential for non-invasive high temperature measurements on luminescent coatings. In this work, a phosphor thermometry instrument has been developed to collect two emission peaks simultaneously of an erbium and europium co-doped yttria-stabilized zirconia TBC, enabling an extended temperature range and high precision of the in situ temperature assessment. The luminescence lifetime decays and the intensity variations of both dopants were captured by the instrument, testing its high sensitivity and extended temperature range capabilities for accurate measurements, up to operating temperatures for turbine engines. The results open the way for the applicability of portable phosphor thermometry instrumentation to perform effective temperature monitoring on turbine engine materials and support the advancement of innovative sensing coatings.
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