Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2025
Thermal Scanning Conductometry TSC as a General Method for Studying and Controlling the Phase Behavior of Conductive Physical Gels
Published on: January 23, 2018
Development of Structure-Property Relationships for Ammonium Transport through Charged Organogels
Adam L Bachmann1, Brock Hunter2, Bryan S Beckingham1
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
Researchers developed new membranes for ammonia production, a clean fuel. Increasing membrane crosslinking reduces unwanted ammonia crossover, improving the efficiency of electrochemical nitrogen reduction cells.
Area of Science:
- Electrochemistry
- Materials Science
- Sustainable Energy
Background:
- Ammonia is a key carbon-free fuel, but its production is energy-intensive.
- Electrochemical nitrogen reduction cells offer a promising alternative for sustainable ammonia synthesis.
- Efficient cell performance relies on selective membranes that control ion transport and minimize product crossover.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of membrane crosslinking density and chemical composition on ammonium transport.
- To understand how membrane morphology influences the efficiency of electrochemical ammonia production.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of membranes with varying crosslinking densities and monomer compositions.
- Characterization of membrane properties, including ammonium permeability and water content.
- Correlation of membrane structure with ammonium crossover rates.
Main Results:
- Higher crosslinking density in membranes significantly reduced ammonium permeability.
- At maximum crosslinking, ammonium permeability remained consistent regardless of water fraction or monomer hydrophobicity.
- Controlled membrane synthesis allows for tuning of ammonium transport properties.
Conclusions:
- Membrane crosslinking is a critical factor in minimizing ammonium crossover in electrochemical cells.
- Tailoring membrane morphology offers a pathway to enhance the efficiency of sustainable ammonia production.
- These findings guide the development of improved membrane separators for carbon-free fuel technologies.
More Related Videos
09:09Synthesis of PolyN-isopropylacrylamide Janus Microhydrogels for Anisotropic Thermo-responsiveness and Organophilic/Hydrophilic Loading Capability
Published on: February 27, 2016
06:35Construction and Systematical Symmetric Studies of a Series of Supramolecular Clusters with Binary or Ternary Ammonium Triphenylacetates
Published on: February 15, 2016
Related Concept Videos
01:17Pore Transport and Ion-Pair Transport
Pore transport, also known as convective transport, is a process where small molecules like urea, water, and sugars rapidly cross cell membranes as though there were channels or pores in the membrane. Although direct microscopic evidence is limited but the concept of pores or channels is widely accepted based on physiological evidence. Despite the lack of direct...
01:21Basicity of Aliphatic Amines
To measure the basicity of amines, two conventions are generally used. The first defines Kb as the basicity constant for the deprotonation reaction of water by the amine, as presented in Figure 1. Conventionally, lower Kb indicates...
01:19Structure of Amines
01:30Preparation of Amines: Alkylation of Ammonia and Amines
Each alkylation step makes the nitrogen center more nucleophilic, which triggers successive alkylations until a quaternary ammonium salt is formed. Considering...