INFUSE: Interface with the Future - Underpinning Science to Support the Energy transition
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Materials
Abstract
Climate Change is the single biggest threat to present and future generations: to meet the ambitious targets for net zero CO2 set out by the UK government and in line with Paris Climate Agreement requires technological mobilization on an unprecedented scale - with action required in rapid development and deployment of new approaches. A paradigm shift in the UK's research and development capabilities is needed to reduce time to market for novel and sustainable solutions for energy production and consumption. Successful rapid translation requires partnership between academia and industry, with a shared vision and commitment.
Proposed technological strategies for CO2 reduction - either at source (you don't produce it) or post combustion mitigation (you capture and use it) - have limitations in efficiency, stability or lifetime associated with the behaviour of material interfaces in the systems, and how these interfaces change with time in the operating environments. Examples of such dynamic systems range from geological carbon capture and storage, to interfaces in new electric vehicles, to nanoscale materials for catalysts or energy harvesting. If we were able to understand and control such interfaces it would provide a transformation in our ability to create, optimize and deploy radical technological solutions to both combat climate change and create clean energy systems.
In this joint programme between Shell, Imperial College London and the UK National Synchrotron Facility - Diamond Light Source - we aim to develop entirely new capabilities to study the behaviour of interfaces under complex real world conditions - such as high temperature, flow, stress, electric fields etc. and to be able to correlate the measurements in time and across length-scales so that we build up a complete picture of interface properties and how they change. We will combine these experiments with state-of-the-art computational techniques to provide new insights into interfacial behaviour. This mechanistic platform represents the foundation that will underpin the rational design of new materials and processes with reduced energy demand, better lifetime or more robust integrity.
Proposed technological strategies for CO2 reduction - either at source (you don't produce it) or post combustion mitigation (you capture and use it) - have limitations in efficiency, stability or lifetime associated with the behaviour of material interfaces in the systems, and how these interfaces change with time in the operating environments. Examples of such dynamic systems range from geological carbon capture and storage, to interfaces in new electric vehicles, to nanoscale materials for catalysts or energy harvesting. If we were able to understand and control such interfaces it would provide a transformation in our ability to create, optimize and deploy radical technological solutions to both combat climate change and create clean energy systems.
In this joint programme between Shell, Imperial College London and the UK National Synchrotron Facility - Diamond Light Source - we aim to develop entirely new capabilities to study the behaviour of interfaces under complex real world conditions - such as high temperature, flow, stress, electric fields etc. and to be able to correlate the measurements in time and across length-scales so that we build up a complete picture of interface properties and how they change. We will combine these experiments with state-of-the-art computational techniques to provide new insights into interfacial behaviour. This mechanistic platform represents the foundation that will underpin the rational design of new materials and processes with reduced energy demand, better lifetime or more robust integrity.
Publications
An S
(2023)
Inverse Modeling of Core Flood Experiments for Predictive Models of Sandstone and Carbonate Rocks
in Water Resources Research
Ardah S
(2023)
Advanced modelling of lubricated interfaces in general curvilinear grids
in Tribology International
Ayestarán Latorre C
(2021)
Mechanochemistry of phosphate esters confined between sliding iron surfaces
in Communications Chemistry
Bhamra J
(2023)
Atomic-scale insights into the tribochemical wear of diamond on quartz surfaces
in Applied Surface Science
Blunt MJ
(2022)
Ostwald ripening and gravitational equilibrium: Implications for long-term subsurface gas storage.
in Physical review. E
Ciniero A
(2023)
Defects drive the tribocharging strength of PTFE: An ab-initio study
in Nano Energy
Eder S
(2022)
Does speed kill or make friction better?-Designing materials for high velocity sliding
in Applied Materials Today
Foroughi S
(2022)
A Closed-Form Equation for Capillary Pressure in Porous Media for All Wettabilities
in Transport in Porous Media
Goodarzi S
(2024)
Trapping, hysteresis and Ostwald ripening in hydrogen storage: A pore-scale imaging study
in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy
Description | EPSRC iCASE 2022 training grant - iCASE studentship with Shell (voucher number 220145) |
Amount | £135,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 220145 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2022 |
End | 11/2026 |
Description | Flexoelectricity for green energy batteries |
Amount | £204,031 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/X026582/1 |
Organisation | Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | Global |
Start | 06/2023 |
End | 07/2025 |
Description | High Voltage Ceramic Heating (ETC-2022-5818) |
Amount | £477,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Shell Global Solutions International BV |
Sector | Private |
Country | Netherlands |
Start | 01/2023 |
End | 01/2025 |
Description | Imperial-Shell UTC for Fuels and Lubricants (renewal 2021-2026) - Prof. Dini co-director |
Amount | £2,167,700 (GBP) |
Organisation | Shell Global Solutions International BV |
Sector | Private |
Country | Netherlands |
Start | 09/2021 |
End | 03/2026 |
Description | RAEng/Shell Research Chair in Complex Engineering Interfaces |
Amount | £1,202,967 (GBP) |
Funding ID | RCSRF2122-14-143 |
Organisation | Royal Academy of Engineering |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2022 |
End | 03/2027 |
Description | Researcher Development Grant |
Amount | £500 (GBP) |
Funding ID | D22-0562069656 |
Organisation | Royal Society of Chemistry |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2022 |
End | 07/2022 |
Description | Diamond/Imperial/Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |
Organisation | Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) |
Country | Spain |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Thokozile Kathyola and Sofia Diaz-Moreno will develop novel in situ/operando experimental set-ups for the characterisation of adsorbents using correlative synchrotron X-ray techniques, plan and execute beamtime experiments, and provide data analysis expertise. Ronny Pini, Camille Petit, and Killian Gymrek will provide samples, offer expertise on adsorption processes, and provide information on complementary lab-based experiments. |
Collaborator Contribution | Roberto Boada Romero will provide expertise on the analysis of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks using X-ray absorption spectroscopy. |
Impact | Beamtime Experiments: Diamond Light Source (Beamline I18; December 2022) - Elucidation of Adsorption-Induced Structural Transitions in Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks at High Pressures |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Diamond/University of St Andrews |
Organisation | University of St Andrews |
Department | School of Chemistry St Andrews |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Thokozile Kathyola, Sofia Diaz-Moreno and Anna Korner will develop novel in situ/operando experimental set-ups for the characterisation of catalysts using correlative synchrotron X-ray techniques, plan and execute beamtime experiments, and provide data analysis expertise. |
Collaborator Contribution | Paul Webb will provide samples, offer expertise on catalytic reactions, and provide information on complementary lab-based and synchrotron experiments. |
Impact | Beamtime Experiments: Diamond Light Source (Beamline I18; April 2023) - Operando High-Pressure Studies of CO2 Co-feeding in the Fischer-Tropsch Reaction Using Combined X-ray Spectroscopy, Scattering, and Imaging The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (Beamline ID31; July 2023) - Operando High-Pressure Studies of CO2 Co-feeding in the Fischer-Tropsch Reaction Using Combined X-ray Scattering and Imaging Conference Contributions: Operendo VII Conference (Poster; May 2023) - Operando Studies of High-Temperature Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Using Combined X-ray Spectroscopy, Scattering, and Imaging |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | 18th International Conference on X-Ray Absorption and Fine Structure (XAFS 2022) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Thokozile Kathyola gave an oral presentation at the 18th International Conference on X-ray Absorption Fine Structure in Sydney, Australia on the 11th of July 2022. The title of the presentation was, "X-ray absorption spectroscopy study of the effects of temperature, pressure, and shear on the local structure of vanadium-based oil lubricant additives". She was also a contributor to another talk on "Self-Absorption Effects in Ambient Pressure Total Electron Yield X-ray Absorption Spectra: The Crucial Role of Fluorescence-Induced Gas Ionization". Notably, she applied for and received extra funding to attend this conference from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Researcher Development Grant. Thokozile was able to guage the importance of her work, establish new collaborations, and expand her network of contacts in the X-ray spectroscopy community. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | 9th UK Catalysis Conference 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Thokozile Kathyola attended the 9th UK Catalysis Conference 2023 in Loughborough, UK from the 4th to 6th January 2023. She established new collaborations and expanded her network of contacts in the catalysis community. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Exhibition at the New Scientist Live, London October 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Our group routinely has an exhibition stand (E22 in 2022) at the New Scientist Live, where we explain the wonder of friction and interfaces to the general public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019,2022 |
URL | https://live.newscientist.com/partners-exhibitors |