Alba Garzón Manjón How Can We Encourage More Widespread Use of Hydrogen Fuel Cells?

Alba Garzón Manjón is a project leader at the Max Planck Institut für Eisenforschung (MPIE) in Düsseldorf where she has been a postdoctoral researcher since 2016. Prior to this, she completed her Masters and PhD in Chemistry at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Institut de Ciències dels Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC). Garzón Manjón’smain research interests include High Resolution (Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscopy ((S)TEM), Sputtering Techniques and Fuel Cells.

Area of Research

Chemistry

Tobias Löffler, Alan Savan, Alba Garzón-Manjón, Michael Meischein, Christina Scheu, Alfred Ludwig and Wolfgang Schuhmann. "Toward a Paradigm Shift in Electrocatalysis Using Complex Solid Solution Nanoparticles." ACS Energy Letters 4 (2019): 1206–1214. doi:10.1021/acsenergylett.9b00531.  

since 2016

Postdoctoral Researcher

Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung (more details)

2010-2016

Researcher

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Insitut de Ciències de Materials de Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC)

2016

Ph.D in Chemistry

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Synthesis of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles for Superconducting Nanocomposites and Other Applications ( Cooperation with ICMAB-CSIC)

2012

Master in Science and Chemical Technologies

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Josep Ros (UAB) & Dr. Susagna Ricart (ICMAB-CSIC)

2011

B.A.

Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Dept. of Chemistry

Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung

Düsseldorf

Novel alloys for automotive lightweight design and airplane turbines, materials for sustainable energy conversion and storage, and the development of big data and machine learning methods – these are just a few examples of the research areas that are being investigated by the scientists of the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung. The team of engineers, material scientists, physicists, and chemists develops tailored materials and methods for mobility, energy, infrastructure, and information. To this end, the researchers study complex materials with atomic precision under real environmental conditions.

Department

Department of Structure and Nano- / Micromechanics of Materials

Plasticity, fatigue, and fracture of materials are usually initiated by local deformation processes.

The mission of the Department Structure and Nano-/Micromechanics is to develop experimental methods to perform quantitative nano-/micromechanical and tribological tests for complex and miniaturized materials,
to unravel the underlying deformation mechanisms by advanced microstructure characterization techniques from the micrometer level down to atomic dimensions, to establish material laws for local and
global mechanical behavior, and finally to generate nanostructured materials and high temperature intermetallic materials with superior mechanical properties. The in-depth microstructure investigations
include atomic resolved high-resolution (scanning) transmission electron microscopy (STEM/TEM), analytical and conventional TEM, scanning electron microscopy with electron backscattered diffraction (SEM/EBSD),
focused ion beam microscopy (FIB), X-ray diffraction and synchrotron radiation techniques. A cornerstone will be the combination of advanced characterization and mechanical testing in form of in situ nano-/micromechanical experiments which will permit to simultaneously observe the microstructural changes while measuring the mechanical response. The gained insights will be used to quantitatively describe and predict the local and global material behavior and to design superior nanostructured materials and high temperature intermetallic materials by using local confinement effects.
The synthesis of miniaturized nanostructured materials will be done by thin film deposition techniques.

 

Map

One very promising way of producing energy in an environmentally friendly manner is via hydrogen fuel cells. In this video, ALBA GARZÓN MANJÓN explains that a fundamental barrier to the widespread adoption of this technology is the prohibitive cost of the noble metals that act as catalysts in the fuel cell. Garzón Manjón’s research seeks to identify alternatives, centering her search on high entropy alloy materials. Highlighting the importance of the size, composition and stability of any material used, the research shows that a body centeredcubic structure which is high in chromium and cobalt and low in manganese is most suitable. The new catalyst is also shown to use less energy to initiate the reaction than noble alloys.

LT Video Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10939

Sputter Deposition of Highly Active Complex Solid Solution Electrocatalysts into an Ionic Liquid Library: Effect of Structure and Composition on Oxygen Reduction Activity

  • Alba Garzón Manjón, Tobias Löffler, Michael Meischein, Hajo Meyer, Joohyun Lim, Valerie Strotkötter, Wolfgang Schuhmann, Alfred Ludwig and Christina Scheu
  • Nanoscale
  • Published in 2020
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Alba Garzón Manjón, Tobias Löffler, Michael Meischein, Hajo Meyer, Joohyun Lim, Valerie Strotkötter, Wolfgang Schuhmann, Alfred Ludwig and Christina Scheu. "Sputter Deposition of Highly Active Complex Solid Solution Electrocatalysts into an Ionic Liquid Library: Effect of Structure and Composition on Oxygen Reduction Activity." Nanoscale 12 (2020): 23570–23577. doi:10.1039/D0NR07632E.