Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LESGO (Light to Store chemical Energy in reduced Graphene Oxide for electricity generation)
Période du rapport: 2020-11-01 au 2022-04-30
LESGO’s main objective is to demonstrate that graphene-based materials such as GO can be used to securely store H using an energy efficient hydrogen loading based on the use of an electrolyzer. This overall goal is being addressed with 13 specific objectives grouped in four main topics: materials and cell configuration for H binding to C, performance characterization of the electrolyser, H desorption for generating electricity, and building a societally responsive ecosystem and community. To a large extent the objectives for the first half of LESGO correspond to the development of a more effective H binding mechanism to GO while the second half will consolidate such results on H loading, while exploring effective mechanisms to desorb H from the rGO-H and implement this in an alkaline fuel cell to eventually obtain electricity.
Since the beginning of the project, LESGO partners have achieved many of the expected goals. From the materials point of view, graphene oxide has been fabricated with low to high oxygen content, and nanoparticle production has been achieved and scaled both for oxygen evolution in the anode side and for hydrogen gas side reaction inhibition. These materials have been used in flow electrochemical cell conditions to accomplish continuous flow hydrogenation of graphene oxide in water suspension for the first time. This has produced a black, hydrogen containing fuel, which has been computationally modelled and experimentally characterized to be composed of multiple chemical bonding energies for hydrogen. At least three different hydrogen desorption energies have been found, up to complete hydrogen release from the graphene. In parallel, LESGO partners have modelled and designed a 10 times larger prototype, coupled to photovoltaic cells, which will be used to directly store solar energy in this hydrogen containing fuel in aqueous conditions.
Up to now, LESGO has significantly advanced in the development of an alternative means to store H in a liquid medium, generating the necessary knowledge to achieve this purpose in the fields of catalysis, material synthesis and electrochemical cell design. In its execution, the project continues to spread excellence in science with a large innovative component, integrating the expertise from academic and industrial partners (two of them SMEs) under an interdisciplinary community interacting with a wide range of stakeholders, from R&I to social actors. As the technology becomes more mature, LESGO could become a game changer in the energy sector, offering a not-toxic, renewable fuel alternative to the transportation sector.