Archive for year: 2023

The Nanoionics and Fuel Cells group at IREC is looking for a PhD student for an exciting new project on a novel battery technology based on thin films! Check it out: link.

Researchers at CNRS, in collaboration with IREC, have developed a new technique for probing oxygen kinetics in-situ. The techinque is based on tracking the changes of isotope concentration in a material by Raman. The proof of concept and strengths of isotope exchange Raman spectroscopy (IERS) is demonstrated by studying the oxygen isotope back-exchange in gadolinium-doped ceria (CGO) thin films. Resulting oxygen self-diffusion and surface exchange coefficients are compared to conventional time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) characterization and literature values, showing good agreement, while at the same time providing additional insight, challenging established assumptions. IERS captivates through its rapidity, simple setup, non-destructive nature, cost effectiveness, and versatile fields of application and thus can readily be integrated as new standard tool for in situ and operando characterization in many laboratories worldwide. The applicability of this method is expected to consolidate the understanding of elementary physicochemical processes and impact various emerging fields including solid oxide cells, battery research, and beyond. Link to publication: here.

Project partners from IREC have partecipated in the “Festa de la Ciencia” 2023 in Barcelona. A great outreach event to explain our activities and to introduce people to the power of harvesting heat and light! A very crowded event co-organized with another EU project “EpiStore”, as you can see from the gallery pictures.

The European Material Research Society sprng meeting will take place from may 29th to June 2nd in Strasbourg, France. The project is sponsor and contributor of Symposium A “Solid State Ionics: bulk, interfaces and integration in devices”. Check the full program: link.

Project partners at IREC and CNRS have participated in a new book, “Nanoengineered materials for solid oxide cells” in the IOP ebook series. The volume focuses on the fundamental research and progress achieved in utilizing nanostructured materials to boost the properties and performance of solid oxide cell devices. Link to publication: here.

The “Power of Interfaces 2022” meeting (PoI22) has taken place on October 5th-7th in Palma, Mallorca. It hosted three related events: the Harvestore and Epistore projects meetings, a school and the workshop, with 83 participants from 11 different institutions.

This is the third edition of the workshop, being the first one in 2020 at the Royal Society in London, and the second one in 2021 online.

The School covered aspects of fundamentals of oxide chemistry, ion transport, electrochemical devices and advanced characterization techniques. The participants had the opportunity to learn from exceptional lecturers: Ainara Aguadero, Stephen Skinner, Louis De Taeye, Juergen Fleig, Miguel Laguna, John Kilner and Dino Klotz.

On the 6th and 7th of October, the PoI22 workshop has been celebrated. It included seven different sessions: Advanced techniques, Devices, New Materials, Interfaces and surfaces, Modelling and Protonics. Outstanding keynotes have been presented, in addition to a series of invited and contributed talks. A poster session took place the 6th in the afternoon. At the end of the event the “Early career best poster” and “Early career bet oral presentation” prizes were awarded.

Beside the interesting scientific presentations, during the PoI22 event there was also time for informal networking. The welcome reception took place at a micro-brewing were participant could taste local craft beer and food. Invited speakers and project leaders were invited to a Gala dinner at the Xalest restaurant.

Visit our gallery section for photos of the event!

A novel rechargeable battery based on oxygen ions has been developed by project partners at TU Vienna. This technology is capable of working at intermediate temperatures with high storage capacity. It can be crafted without the need for rare elements and it is made of non-combustible materials, becoming therefore an interesting alternative to Li-ion batteries for long-term storage and for application in hazardous environments. The new battery idea has already been patented by TU Vienna and IREC. Publication: link.