Competitive Additive-Strategy Modulating Superaerophobic/Superhydrophilic Porous Copper for Enhanced Liquid...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Thermodynamics

Background:

• Enhancing mass transfer is crucial for gas-evolution reactions (GERs) in energy conversion.
• A unified mechanism for improving both chemical (hydrogen evolution reaction, HER) and physical (boiling heat transfer, BHT) GERs is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a porous copper material that simultaneously enhances mass transfer for both HER and BHT.
• To establish a link between microstructure, surface properties, and performance in GERs.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of porous copper using a competitive electroreduction additive strategy.
• Tuning pore structure by regulating hydrogen evolution and copper deposition.
• Characterization of material properties including wettability and superaerophobicity.

Main Results:

• The aerophobic porous copper surface reduced HER overpotential by 178 mV at 10 mA/cm².
• Enhanced wettability improved HER kinetics by facilitating the Volmer step.
• Porous copper reduced BHT wall superheat by 6.5 K (28 kW/m²) and 14.6 K (1000 kW/m²).
• Superior wettability mitigated heat transfer deterioration under high heat flux.

Conclusions:

• Porous copper fabricated via competitive electroreduction offers synergistic benefits for both HER and BHT.
• The study provides insights into unified mass transfer enhancement mechanisms for diverse GERs.
• This work offers guidance for designing high-efficiency energy conversion materials.