Abstract
Silica membranes exhibit poor hydrothermal stability in moist atmospheres, which is the major problem for their application in hydrogen separation processes. In this work, we examine how the hydrothermal stability of amorphous silica (a-SiO2) pore surfaces is affected by aluminum doping by employing first-principles calculations combined with a multiscale approach. We find that the incorporation of aluminum atoms into the a-SiO2 surface network indeed leads to the strengthening of the hydrothermal stability of the a-SiO2 pore surfaces. Thermodynamics of the surface hydrolysis reaction proves to play a key role in stabilizing a-SiO2 pore surfaces, while the influence of kinetics is negligible.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | EFC 2017 - Proceedings of the 7th European Fuel Cell Piero Lunghi Conference |
| Editors | Viviana Cigolotti, Chiara Barchiesi, Michela Chianella |
| Publisher | ENEA |
| Pages | 445-446 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9788882863241 |
| State | Published - 2017 |
| Event | 7th European Fuel Cell Piero Lunghi Conference, EFC 2017 - Naples, Italy Duration: 12 Dec 2017 → 15 Dec 2017 |
Publication series
| Name | EFC 2017 - Proceedings of the 7th European Fuel Cell Piero Lunghi Conference |
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Conference
| Conference | 7th European Fuel Cell Piero Lunghi Conference, EFC 2017 |
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| Country/Territory | Italy |
| City | Naples |
| Period | 12/12/17 → 15/12/17 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© EFC 2017 - Proceedings of the 7th European Fuel Cell Piero Lunghi Conference.
Keywords
- Density-functional theory
- Hydrogen
- Membrane
- Separation