Instruments and Tools

Test facilities

  • Fuel cell test facilities for power dissipation up to 35 kW
  • Battery test facilities for up to 300 cells
  • Water electrolysis test benches for pressure up to 20 bar and 200 A power supply
  • CO2-electrolysis test bench for pressure up to 5 bar
  • High-pressure water electrolysis test bench for pressure up to 100 bar
  • Tensile testing (Materials Tester Zwick/Roell Z005)

In situ/operando analytical tools

  • Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy for up to 80 A DC current (Biologic)
  • Gas analyzer for CO2 (California Instruments) using NDIR with range of to 0.1 and 1 %
  • Mass Spectrometry for online gas analysis
  • Gas chromatography for online gas analysis
  • Differential Electrochemical Mass Spectrometry (DEMS)
  • X-ray diffraction (in-house and in collaboration with Material Science Beamline at SLS)
  • FTIR/ATR Spectrometer (Bruker Vertex 70v) with electrochemical cell
  • Combined Raman and FTIR Microscope (HORIBA Jobin Yvon) with electrochemical cells
  • Electrochemical X-ray absorption spectroscopy (in collaboration with SuperXAS / Phoenix Beamline at SLS) with electrochemical cell
  • Neutron Imaging (in collaboration with NEUTRA and ICON Beamlines at SINQ)
  • Neutron Diffraction (in collaboration with HRPT Beamline at SINQ) with electrochemical cell
  • X-Ray Tomographic Microscopy (in-house using GE Nanotom m and in collaboration with Tomcat Beamline at SLS) with electrochemical cells
  • Small Angle X-say scattering (in collaboration with SuperXAS and cSAXS beamlines at SLS) with electrochemical flow cell and fuel cell
  • Helox/Oxygen gain measurements with Pulsed Gas Analysis (PGA)
  • X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (Escalab 220i XL) for solid state batteries with electrochemical cell

Standard analytical tools

  • X-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (Escalab 220i XL)
  • Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM/EDX/STEM) with Broad Ion Beam Sample Preparation
  • Small Angle X-ray Scattering/X-ray diffraction (SAXS/XRD, Rigaku)
  • TGA and DSC calorimetric analysis
  • Standard electrochemical equipment (CV, EIS, RRDE, galvanostatic charge/discharge)
  • In-plane and through-plane membrane conductivity cell (Scribner)
  • Karl Fischer Test (Water content determination)
  • Oxygen gas sensor educatec 0-27 % +/- 1% (GDX O2 sensor with Bluetooth interface)
  • Automatic titrators (Metrohm Titrino) for potentiometric titrations (e.g., acid-base, redox, chloride)
  • Ion chromatography (Metrohm)
  • Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) instrument, Agilent 5110
  • Broad Ion beam sample preparation for SEM with cross-sectiona nd plannar milling capabilities Hitachi
  • Optical microscopes

Preparation

  • Membrane preparation by radiation grafting (area 16 x 14 cm2)
  • Lab coater for film and membrane solution casting (~A5 size)
  • Lab coater for active layer preparation from component slurries
  • Various vacuum ovens, convection oven
  • Rotary evaporatorRotatory mixer with the possibility to apply vacuum (Thinky)
  • Schlenk lines
  • Infrastructure for non-aqueous electrochemistry (glove box, electrochemical cells)
  • Catalyst synthesis facilities
  • Standard and high-power (horn) sonicators
  • Ultrasonic spray deposition (for catalyst coated membranes)
  • Hot press