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Artur Bekisch
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Artur Bekisch

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  • RLS-year 2017
  • Dissertation view

CV from Artur Bekisch

Artur Bekisch

Artur Bekisch completed his middle school diploma at a secondary modern school and then, with a great deal of ambition and discipline, his specialized baccalaureate diploma at a technical secondary school. Overcoming the differences in academic performance prepared him for the challenges ahead in his studies. The foundation of his academic career was laid with the bachelor's degree program in "Environmental Engineering" and its successful completion at the Hof University of Applied Sciences. During his studies, science and scientific work became his passion. Because of this, he decided to study for a master's degree in "Chemistry-Energy-Environment" at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena. During his academic career, he became increasingly aware that the protection of the environment is indispensable due to technological advancement regarding water and energy. In this context, application-oriented research was essential to him. This application-oriented research is evident from the respective successful final theses. The bachelor thesis was completed at the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT (nutrient recycling from an aqueous medium), and the master thesis at the Fraunhofer Institute IKTS (optimization of a stationary energy storage system - Na-NiCl2 battery). He successfully completed the Ph.D. at Fraunhofer Institute IKTS and defended it at Friedrich Schiller University Jena on Nov. 16, 2022. The awareness of environmental protection in the national and international context is close to his heart.

Short description of the doctoral thesis:

Development of a superhydrophobic gas-diffusion electrode for a sustainable zinc-air-accumulator.
 
Conventional energy storage systems (lithium-ion batteries) are not suited to store excess energy generated by renewable power sources. They are also not fit to replace the conventional combustion engine. This is due to their rather little energy density. Furthermore, Lithium is a rare and expensive element that is only being mined in a few regions of the globe. Accordingly, the development of an energy storage system consisting of environmentally friendly components exhibiting significantly higher energy densities could help to achieve the above-mentioned aims as well as lead to an eco-friendlier and more sustainable future.
 
A rather positive effect of storage systems with high energy densities is the acyclic relief of high-voltage lines which would lead to a reduced amount of coal- and gas-fired power plants. Furthermore, the same quantity of energy could be stored in fewer storage systems. For this reason, high energy density storage systems may lead to less dependence on the element lithium and therefore enable the reduction of toxic and environmentally harmful battery components.
 
The main target of the Ph.D. project is the development and testing of a sustainable superhydrophobic gas-diffusion electrode to exploit the maximum of the potential energy density of a zinc-air-accumulator (1500 W/l). Furthermore, the new system is going to be benchmarked against stationary and non-stationary storage systems and evaluated from ecological and economic standpoints.
 
A limiting factor of present zinc-air-batteries is that their potential energy density cannot be fully utilized. Slow chemical reactions on the gas-diffusion electrodes surface are the cause of this. In order to maximize the utilization of high energy densities, the accumulator has to be modified by integrating the hierarchic architecture of the floating fern in the gas-diffusion electrode. For this purpose, the electrode surface will be partly rendered superhydrophobic. Areas on the surface that have bifunctional catalysts attached will be kept hydrophilic. This results in a stable air layer on the surface of the gas-diffusion electrode in an aqueous media and a stable three-phase boundary. This leads to an optimization of the oxygen transport to the catalytic locations of the electrode. Furthermore, due to the reduction of varying accessibility of reaction components the charge and discharge reactions will be enhanced. In general, the weaknesses of conventional zinc-air-gas-diffusion electrodes (poor mechanical properties and low electrical conductivity) can be overcome and higher performance and efficiency can be achieved.   

Dissertation

Carbon-free Bifunctional Gas Diffusion Electrode for Alkaline Energy Converter

Dissertation-Artur_Bekisch.pdf
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