Defect-surface engineering of La-doped ceria for microwave-assisted hydrogen production
[EN] Hydrogen plays a pivotal role in decarbonizing the energy and chemical sectors, yet current production methods are limited by high temperatures and energy demands. Microwave-assisted thermochemical redox cycles offer a promising low-temperature, contactless alternative by coupling electromagnet...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2026 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) |
| Repositorio: | RiuNet. Repositorio Institucional de la Universitat Politécnica de Valéncia |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dnet:riunet______::ab2eb09b71bf51414de412d587092bb4 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://riunet.upv.es/handle/10251/234416 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Microwave-assisted thermochemical cycles Hydrogen production Lanthanum-doped ceria Oxygen vacancies Redox kinetics Defect engineering |
| Sumario: | [EN] Hydrogen plays a pivotal role in decarbonizing the energy and chemical sectors, yet current production methods are limited by high temperatures and energy demands. Microwave-assisted thermochemical redox cycles offer a promising low-temperature, contactless alternative by coupling electromagnetic energy with reducible oxides. In this study, we explore La-doped ceria (Ce1-xLaxO2-delta) as a tunable platform to enhance microwave-driven hydrogen production. We demonstrate that introducing La3+ into the ceria lattice reduces the bandgap and increases dielectric permittivity, enabling Ce4+ to Ce3+ reduction at temperatures as low as 110 degrees C. Among the series, Ce0.9La0.1O1.95 exhibits optimal performance, balancing high ionic mobility and microwave absorption. Combined with tailored surface area, this composition achieves an unprecedented hydrogen production rate of 2.60 mL g-1 per cycle at temperatures below 400 degrees C. Correlations between dopant concentration, polarization behavior, and redox kinetics reveal the key role of band structure breakdown and defect formation in driving non-equilibrium reduction. Our findings uncover mechanistic insights into microwave-material interactions and establish design principles for next-generation redox materials. This approach provides a framework for scalable, electrified hydrogen production via electronic structure and defect engineering in oxide systems. |
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