Łukasz Werner

One of the key challenges in commercializing proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer technology is reducing the production costs while maintaining high efficiency and operational stability. Significant contributors to the overall cost of the device are the electrode catalysts with IrO₂ and Pt/C. Due to the high cost and limited availability of noble metals, there is growing interest in developing alternative, low-cost catalytic materials. In recent years, two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDCs), such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) and rhenium disulfide (ReS₂), have attracted considerable attention due to their promising electrochemical properties for hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs). These materials exhibit unique properties, such as a high surface area or catalytic activity localized at the edges of the layered structure, which can be further enhanced through defect engineering or phase modulation. To increase the catalytically active surface area, the investigated materials were deposited on a carbon-based support—Vulcan XC-72R—selected for its high electrical conductivity and large specific surface area. This study investigated the physicochemical and electrochemical properties of six catalyst samples with varying MoS₂ and ReS₂ to carbon support ratios. Among the composites analyzed, the best sample on MoS₂ (containing the most carbon soot) and the best sample on ReS₂ (containing the least carbon soot) were selected. These were then used as cathode catalysts in an experimental PEM electrolyzer setup. The results confirmed satisfactory catalytic activity of the tested materials, indicating their potential as alternatives to conventional noble metal-based catalysts and providing a foundation for further research in this area.

This research aims to create a high-efficiency, low-resistance biodegradable air-filter structure containing beeswax as a result of the simultaneous production of fibers by solution-blowing and melt-blowing. The melt-blowing method is effective for producing micrometer fibers on an industrial scale. In turn, the solution-blowing method allows for the production of fibers with a nanometric diameter from solutions containing temperature-sensitive additives such as beeswax. Combining these two methods is a promising perspective for producing high-performance, functional air-filter materials. Beeswax is a natural material capable of accumulating an electrical charge. When an external electric field is applied, the presence of beeswax in the filter structure facilitates charge retention on the fiber surface. This results in a fully biodegradable filter material with high efficiency and low resistance.

New substances and particles appearing in the environment following technological development pose new challenges for separation methods. Moreover, the growing amount of waste also forces us to look for environmentally friendly solutions. One way to create filtration structures with the desired properties is to combine known techniques, thanks to which the advantages of one technique complement the deficiencies and disadvantages of another. Combining the melt-blowing and solution-blowing processes seems to be promising. Fibres created from melt-blowing will provide mechanical strength, while solution-blowing will allow the introduction of nanofibres into the structure with unique filtration and functional properties. Both methods enable working with biodegradable polymers, so the resulting filter can also be environmentally friendly after operation. Our research aimed to check whether combining two fibre production techniques (melt-blown and solution-blowing) is possible and how the joining method will affect the final product. We created a multilayer structure by placing a layer of solution-blowing nanofibres between melt-blown layers, and a mixed structure by simultaneous melt-blowing and solution-blowing. The created multilayer structure was characterised by high filtration efficiency and high-pressure drop. In contrast, the mixed structure achieved a high-quality factor and high mass of deposited droplets per 1 J of energy used for work.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the demand for medical masks and respirators exceeds the current global stockpile of these items, and there is a dire need to increase the production capacity. Considering that ionizing radiation has been used for sterilization of medical products for many years and electron beam (EB) irradiation enables the treatment of huge quantities of disposable medical products in a short time this method should be tested for the mask’s decontamination. In this work, three different filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) were irradiated with electron beams of 12 kGy and 25 kGy. The results confirmed that the decrease in filtration efficiency after irradiation of all respirators results from the elimination of the electric charge from the polypropylene (PP) fibers in the irradiation process. Moreover, the applied doses may affect the thermal stability of PP fabrics, while filtering materials structure and integrity have not changed after irradiation.