Empa, Dübendorf, Switzerland

The section 138, "Hydrogen & Energy", at Empa addresses scientific questions and technological problems from hydrogen in solids to hydrogen as an energy carrier. The investigations range from the fundamental aspects of the hydrogen interaction with solids e.g. the physisorption and chemisorption of hydrogen on the surface, the hydrogen induced structural changes of solids like metal insulator transitions, the occupation of interstitial sites by deuterium and the thermodynamics of hydrogen in the lattice.

Our experience ranges from hydrogen sorption in metals, hydrogen in metallic nanoclusters, hydrogen adsorption on carbonous nanostructures, and electrochemical hydrogen sorption in intermetallic compounds to p-element complex hydrides. We develop instruments for the specific investigation of hydrides and we have demonstrated several solid hydrogen storage systems.

The research groups focus on:

	Structure of hydrides and the dynamics of hydrogen and vacancies in the lattice.
Thermodynamics i.e. stability of hydrides and kinetics of the hydrogen sorption.
	Theoretical modelling e.g. based on density functional theory.

back to top ↑

Prof. Andreas Züttel has extensive experience with supervising and tutoring Master and Ph.D. students, and teaches several courses at the MSc/PhD level at the University of Fribourg. This includes Thermodynamics, Sciences and technology of hydrogen in metals, Energy resources, conversion and storage). A. Züttel also holds the chair "Solid state physics for energy storage systems" as an external professor at at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam (Netherlands). The group has regularly visiting scientists i.e. Ph.D. students, senior scientists and professors from all over the world e.g. Japan, Italy, China, USA, South Korea.

Experience with international collaboration: The group has collaborations with several Dutch, German, English and Japanese groups and has participated as a partner in projects of the 4th, 5th and 6th European framework program. A. Züttel is an expert of task 17 of the International Energy Agency and President of the Swiss Hydrogen Associacion.

International collaborations: The structure and theoretical modelling of borohydrides with the group of G.J. Kroes at LIC in Leiden (Netherlands), theoretical calculation and experimental determination of the stability of new borohydrides with Shin-Ichi Orimo at IMR Tohoku University in Sendai (Japan), thermodynamic parameters of new complex hydrides with R. Griessen and B. Dam at the VU in Amsterdam (Netherlands), mechanical synthesis of complex hydrides with M. Dornheim at GKSS in Hamburg (Germany), the chemical synthesis of complex hydrides with M. Fichtner at FZK in Karlsruhe (Germany).

L. Schlapbach and A. Züttel, "Hydrogen-storage materials for mobile applications", NATURE 414 (15 Nov. 2001), pp. 353-358

A. Züttel, "Materials for Hydrogen Storage", materialstoday Sept. (2003), pp. 24-33.

A. Züttel, P. Sudan, P. Mauron, P. Wenger, "Model for the Hydrogen Adsorption on Carbon Nanostructures", Applied Physics A - Materials Science & Processing 78 (2004), pp. 941-946

Contact

Prof. Dr. Andreas Züttel
EMPA Materials Sciences and Technology
Dept. Environment, Energy and Mobility, Abt. 138 "Hydrogen & Energy"
Überlandstrasse 129
CH-8600 Dübendorf
Switzerland

Phone +41 (44) 823 - 4038
Fax +41 (44) 821 - 6244

http://www.empa.ch/H2E/