PhD student on development of a novel ceramic supported Pd-Ag alloy membrane for H2 production

H2SITE is looking for a hardworking and motivated student to carry out one PhD on hydrogen separation membranes in order to develop a membrane alloy of Pd-23%Ag able to enhance the current state of art performance in terms of permeation, selectivity, cost reduction and lifespan.

The main goals to be carried out by means of the PhD position are:

• Develop a membrane preparation process to achieve Pd membranes alloyed up to 23% Ag either by electroplating (EP) or physical vapour deposition (PVD).
• Study of Pd-Ag deposition process parameters and work toward their optimization in order to improve the selective layer deposition. Development of new and non-destructive techniques key to validate membrane’s quality are included.
• Definition of quality control to be implemented in an industrial scale production line.
• Characterization of permeation membrane properties under single gas and mixed gas composition, targeting the most interesting applications (industry driven).
• Long-term stability study of Pd-based membranes under fluidization conditions. Track performance for at least 5000 hours under continuous operation.

Main characterization techniques that will be used all along the PhD are SEM, TEM, XRD, Capilary Flow Porometry, Gas permeation tests (room and high temperature, up to 550 °C) and ICP. Other techniques that can help to tackle the goals described above, are not ruled out.

Results and objectives are aligned both with patenting and publishing in order to strengthen the Intellectual Property of H2SITE and to give your work visibility among scientific community in order to get the PhD title.