Electrochemical process intensification

Reactivity of inorganic solids and fluids during chemical & electrochemical processing

An important part of the materials-related research at IMAP involves the development, characterization and modeling of the processing and properties of thin films and coatings, including both metallic and ceramic (mainly metallic oxide) systems. As to the processing, specific lab-scale equipment for electrochemical, physical, thermal or chemical growth and deposition has been developed in-house, featuring in-situ monitoring of internal stress evolution for coupled processing – mechanical testing. Examples include the reactive sputtering of binary oxides, the anodization of metals or semiconductors, and the hydriding and thermal treatment of thin films. Currently envisioned applications include Al oxide for corrosion protection, Si oxide for microelectronics, Pd films for hydrogen technologies, TiO2 films for self-cleaning, Au films for flexible electronics and ZnO layers for solar cells. Besides the unique in-situ monitoring capability, advanced tools and know-how has been gathered over the years for a profound chemical, physico-chemical and structural characterization, including SEM, TEM and X-ray diffraction. Moreover, specific expertise is available for on-chip nanomechanical testing and nanoindentation – nanoscratch techniques. Combining the experimental insights gathered for the processing and characterization finally also allows to develop or improve models for thin film growth, reactivity and mechanical behavior, including stress affected ionic transport in metallic oxides, and the size dependent plasticity of thin metallic films.

Projects

Materials and processes for energy conversion and storage
(Photo-)electrochemical hydrogen production
Electronic materials and processing
Environmental electrochemistry, waste water treatment, porous electrodes, sonochemistry and cavitation
Functional metallic oxide films, cellular materials selective oxidation
Surface reactivity of metals and metallic oxides in gaseous and aqueous environments
In-situ internal stress monitoring, on-line process diagnostics

Patents

J. Proost, Q. de Radiguès de Chennevières, G. Thunis. "System for process intensification of water electrolysis". European Patent Office. IPC:1816104405 -1108 (2019)

J. Proost, Q. de Radiguès de Chennevières, G. Thunis. "Gas evolving electrode for process intensification". European Patenet Office. IPC: 19189742 (2019)

J. Proost, R. Delmelle, S. Michotte, "Device, method and system for improved uptake, storage and release of hydrogen", International Publication
Number WO 2012/156332 A1.

J. Proost, R. Santoro, G. Deschuyteneer, P. Soumillion, D. Flandre, "Genetically modified bacteriophage, biosensor containing same, and method of use",
International Publication Number WO 2010/142532 A1.

G.P. Beyer, K. Maex and J. Proost, "Method for filling an opening in an insulating layer", European Patent Number 99870058.7-, International Patent
Number 60/083,822

J.A. Helsen, J. Proost and E. Brauns, "Process for preparing glass and for conditioning the raw materials intended for this glass preparation",
International Patent Number WO 96/29292

N. Boucher, N. Clément, B. Cosijns, T. Lambricht, B. De Maeyer and J. Proost, "Mirror", International Publication Number WO 2013/057256 A1

Joris Proost's reports

Report

2021

Proost, Joris. The role of (green) hydrogen in the energy transition, 2021. 21 p.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/250434

Provided by DIAL

Joris Proost's publications

JournalArticle

2022

Saraiva Rocha da Silva, Fernando ; Delmelle, Renaud ; Georgiadis, Christos ; Proost, Joris. Effect of pore size and electrolyte flow rate on the bubble removal efficiency of 3D pure Ni foam electrodes during alkaline water electrolysis. In: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Vol. 10, p. 107648 (2022). doi:10.1016/j.jece.2022.107648.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/259867

2022

Saraiva Rocha da Silva, Fernando ; Delmelle, Renaud ; Georgiadis, Christos ; Proost, Joris. Electrochemical Performance Enhancement of 3D Printed Electrodes Tailored for Enhanced Gas Evacuation during Alkaline Water Electrolysis. In: Advanced Energy Materials, Vol. online, p. 2203087 (2022). doi:10.1002/aenm.202203087.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/266609

2022

Poulain, Raphaël ; Lumbeeck, Gunnar ; Hunka, Jonas ; Proost, Joris ; Savolainen, Henri ; Idrissi, Hosni ; Schryvers, Dominique ; Gauquelin, Nicolas ; Klein, Andreas. Electronic and Chemical Properties of Nickel Oxide Thin Films and the Intrinsic Defects Compensation Mechanism. In: ACS Applied Electronic Materials, Vol. 4, no.6, p. 2718-2728 (2022). doi:10.1021/acsaelm.2c00230.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/264493

2022

Poulain, Raphaël ; Rohrer, Jochen ; Hermans, Yannick ; Dietz, Christian ; Brötz, Joachim ; Proost, Joris ; Chatenet, Marian ; Klein, Andreas. Origin of Surface Reduction upon Water Adsorption on Oriented NiO Thin Films and Its Relation to Electrochemical Activity. In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 126, no.3, p. 1303-1315 (2022). doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c07934.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/272704

2021

Saraiva Rocha da Silva, Fernando ; Proost, Joris. Discriminating between the effect of pulse width and duty cycle on the hydrogen generation performance of 3-D electrodes during pulsed water electrolysis. In: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 46, no.57, p. 28925-28935 (2021). doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.11.232.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/250072

2021

Saraiva Rocha da Silva, Fernando ; de Radiguès de Chennevières, Quentin ; Thunis, Grégoire ; Proost, Joris. Pulsed water electrolysis: A review. In: Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 377, p. 138052 (2021). doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2021.138052.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/244217

2020

Lumbeeck, Gunnar ; Delvaux, Adeline ; Idrissi, Hosni ; Proost, Joris ; Schryvers, Dominique. Analysis of internal stress build-up during deposition of nanocrystalline Ni thin films using transmission electron microscopy. In: Thin Solid Films, Vol. 707, p. 138076 (2020). doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2020.138076.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/235531

2020

Proost, Joris. Critical assessment of the production scale required for fossil parity of green electrolytic hydrogen. In: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 45, no. 35, p. 17067-17075 (2020). doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.04.259.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/230066

2020

Delvaux, Adeline ; Lumbeeck, Gunnar ; Idrissi, Hosni ; Proost, Joris. Effect of microstructure and internal stress on hydrogen absorption into Ni thin film electrodes during alkaline water electrolysis. In: Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 340, p. 135970 (2020). doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2020.135970.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/228043

2020

Tuyaerts, Romain ; Raskin, Jean-Pierre ; Proost, Joris. Opto-electrical properties and internal stress in Al:ZnO thin films deposited by direct current reactive sputtering. In: Thin Solid Films, Vol. 695, no.137760, p. 8 pages (2020). doi:10.1016/j.tsf.2019.137760.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/227968

2020

Zeng, Xi ; Zhukova, Maria ; Faniel, Sébastien ; Proost, Joris ; Flandre, Denis. Structural and Opto‑electronic characterization of CuO thin films prepared by DC reactive magnetron sputtering. In: Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, Vol. 31, p. 4563-4573 (2020). doi:10.1007/s10854-020-03007-4.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/227328

2019

Proost, Joris ; Delvaux, Adeline. In-situ monitoring of hydrogen absorption into Ni thin film electrodes during alkaline water electrolysis. In: Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 322, p. 134752 (2019). doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2019.134752.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/220236

2019

Dolci, Francesco ; Thomas, Denis ; Hilliard, Samantha ; Guerra, Carlos Fúnez ; Hancke, Ragnhild ; Ito, Hiroshi ; Jegoux, Mathilde ; Kreeft, Gijs ; Leaver, Jonathan ; Newborough, Marcus ; Proost, Joris ; Robinius, Martin ; Weidner, Eveline ; Mansilla, Christine ; Lucchese, Paul. Incentives and legal barriers for power-to-hydrogen pathways: An international snapshot. In: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 44, no.23, p. 11394-11401 (2019). doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.03.045.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/223542

2019

de Radiguès de Chennevières, Quentin ; Thunis, Grégoire ; Proost, Joris. On the use of 3-D electrodes and pulsed voltage for the process intensification of alkaline water electrolysis. In: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 44, p. 29432-29440 (2019).

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/217932

2019

Chehade, Zaher ; Mansilla, Christine ; Lucchese, Paul ; Hilliard, Samantha ; Proost, Joris. Review and analysis of demonstration projects on power-to-X pathways in the world. In: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 44, no.51, p. 27637-27655 (2019). doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.08.260.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/223536

2019

Poulain, Raphaël ; Proost, Joris ; Klein, Andreas. Sputter Deposition of Transition Metal Oxides on Silicon: Evidencing the Role of Oxygen Bombardment for Fermi‐Level Pinning. In: physica status solidi (a), Vol. 216, no.23, p. 1900730 (2019). doi:10.1002/pssa.201900730.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/223475

2019

Proost, Joris. State‐of‐the art CAPEX data for water electrolysers, and their impact on renewable hydrogen price settings. In: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 44, no. 9, p. 4406-4413 (2019). doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.07.164.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/210210

2018

Lumbeeck, Gunnar ; Idrissi, Hosni ; Amin-Ahmadi, Behnam ; Favache, Audrey ; Delmelle, Renaud ; Samaee, Vahid ; Proost, Joris ; Pardoen, Thomas ; Schryvers, Dominique. Effect of hydriding induced defects on the small-scale plasticity mechanisms in nanocrystalline palladium thin films. In: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 124, no.22, p. 225105 (2018). doi:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5055274. doi:10.1063/1.5055274.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/212430

2018

Poulain, Raphaël ; Klein, Andreas ; Proost, Joris. Electro‐catalytic properties of (100), (110) and (111) oriented NiO thin films towards the Oxygen evolution reaction. In: The Journal of Physical Chemistry Part C: Nanomaterials and Interfaces, Vol. 122, p. 22252-22263 (2018). doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b05790.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/210212

2018

Delmelle, Renaud ; Terreni, Jasmin ; Remhof, Arndt ; Heel, Andre ; Proost, Joris ; Borschulte, Andreas. Evolution of Water Diffusion in a Sorption-Enhanced Methanation Catalyst. In: Catalysts, Vol. 8, no.9, p. 341 (2018). doi:10.3390/catal8090341 (registering DOI).

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/201844

2018

Piret, Nicolas ; Santoro, Ronny ; Dogot, Loïck ; Barthélemy, Bastien ; Peyroux, Eugénie ; Proost, Joris. Influence of glass composition on the kinetics of glass etching and frosting in concentrated HF solutions. In: Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, Vol. 499, p. 208-216 (2018). doi:10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2018.07.030.

http://hdl.handle.net/2078.1/201170

Provided by DIAL