Plugging nanoscopic cracks to make hydrogen cleaner and cheaper
by Grant Currin for Columbia Information
New York NY (SPX) Nov 04, 2025
Columbia researchers are working with business companions to enhance power conversion effectivity and take away probably poisonous chemical compounds from an important industrial course of
Hydrogen is already an essential supply of power. The $250 billion business helps fertilizer manufacturing, metal manufacturing, oil refining, and dozens of different important actions. Whereas almost all hydrogen produced immediately is created utilizing carbon-intensive strategies, researchers are racing to develop cheaper methods of manufacturing hydrogen with a decrease carbon footprint.
Some of the promising approaches is water electrolysis, a course of that makes use of electrical energy to energy a reactor – known as an electrolyzer – to separate water (H2O) molecules into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2).
Electrolyzers depend on a skinny membrane that blocks O2 and H2 molecules whereas permitting positively charged hydrogen atoms – known as protons – to go by means of. At present, the business normal membrane materials is Nafion, a kind of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS). These poisonous chemical compounds are dubbed “eternally chemical compounds” due to their skill to persist within the atmosphere for many years. If not manufactured and disposed of correctly, these PFAS supplies can create vital environmental hazards.
At Columbia Engineering, chemical engineer Dan Esposito and his group are growing an alternative choice to Nafion. Their work, supported by the U.S. Division of Power and in collaboration with industrial companions Nel Hydrogen and Forge Nano, goals to switch the Nafion membranes utilized in standard electrolyzers with ultra-thin, PFAS-free oxide membranes. Changing this part eliminates upwards of 99% of the PFAS contained in an electrolyzer.
“The membrane is the guts of the electrolyzer, the place it allows proton transport whereas conserving hydrogen and oxygen separate,” stated Esposito, affiliate professor of chemical engineering at Columbia. “If it fails, the system does not work, and it could actually even turn into harmful.”
In a brand new paper, printed in ACS Nano, Esposito’s lab describes a course of for manufacturing these extremely skinny membranes and fixing a significant obstacle to implementing them safely inside water electrolyzers.
A brand new method
The membrane inside an electrolyzer is accountable for effectivity and security.
“The oxygen and hydrogen need to be stored separate – in any other case it is an explosive combination,” Esposito stated. “The membrane is so essential as a result of it bodily separates the oxygen and the hydrogen whereas permitting protons to go by means of.”
To create a superior various, Esposito and his group turned to silicon dioxide, a PFAS-free materials that has far decrease proton conductivity than Nafion. Earlier generations of researchers had seen that high quality as a downside, however developments in nanoscale manufacturing pointed to a brand new answer: use the substance to manufacture a a lot thinner membrane.
“These oxide supplies are a bit non-intuitive for this software, partially as a result of their conductivity is orders of magnitude decrease than Nafion,” Esposito stated. “However resistance relies upon not solely on the conductivity, but additionally on thickness.”
Usually, the thickness of a Nafion membrane is round 180 microns, which is about two to a few occasions thicker than a human hair. Utilizing atomic layer deposition, a exact manufacturing method refined by collaborator Forge Nano, the researchers crafted dense oxide membranes lower than one micron thick. That is roughly 1/one centesimal the thickness of a human hair – and lots of of occasions thinner than Nafion. Though silicon dioxide is much less conductive, the drastic discount in thickness brings its total resistance in step with the very best business choices.
Pushing the boundaries of producing
Skinny membranes include a brand new problem: defects. Microscopic pinholes or cracks can let hydrogen leak throughout to the oxygen aspect.
“It solely takes a number of pinholes per sq. centimeter to make the entire thing unsafe,” Esposito stated.
To resolve this drawback, the group developed a intelligent electrochemical methodology to selectively seal the defects. By making use of a pulsed voltage, they triggered chemical reactions that deposited nanoscopic “plugs” solely contained in the holes and cracks, preserving the membrane’s thinness and low resistance.
“We found out that you must apply a pulse of power, moderately than a steady present,” Esposito stated. “If you happen to do that as a steady course of, then you definately change the pH in every single place and find yourself depositing plug materials in every single place on the entrance of the membrane.”
Pointing in the direction of a superior product
The outcomes have been dramatic. In laboratory checks, the plugged membranes exhibited hydrogen crossover charges as much as 100 occasions decrease than Nafion regardless of having lower than 1/one centesimal of its thickness.
The work continues to be early-stage, however the group’s business companions, Nel Hydrogen and Forge Nano, are already serving to scale the method. The researchers at the moment are transitioning from centimeter-scale checks to bigger prototypes essential for business functions.
Whereas the quick focus is on hydrogen manufacturing, Esposito sees broader potential. The identical defect-plugging technique may gain advantage gas cells, move batteries, and even water remedy and semiconductor functions.
For now, although, the group is happy about serving to to advance expertise with a lot potential to make hydrogen manufacturing from water electrolysis each cost-effective and environmentally pleasant.
“Proper now, lower than 0.1% of world hydrogen comes from electrolysis,” Esposito stated. “If we need to scale that up sustainably, we’d like membranes which might be each high-performing and environmentally accountable. That is what we’re working to ship.”
Analysis Report:Nanoscopic plugs block hydrogen crossover in submicron thick proton-conducting SiO2 membranes for water electrolysis
Associated Hyperlinks
Columbia College College of Engineering and Utilized Science
All About Oil and Fuel Information at OilGasDaily.com
