The scientific team of Dr Justyna Krzak from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Wrocław University of Technology is working on improving the efficiency of composite high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks. This is another step on the way to use this raw material as the fuel of the future.
At the Department of Mechanics, Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering, scientists have been conducting research in high-pressure tanks for many years, and at the same time, researchers are developing sol-gel technology, i.e. a method of synthesizing materials, in which a solid is obtained from a liquid at room temperature.
The sol-gel transformation is similar to resin hardening or jelly gelation – although the process is much more complex, with reactions that affect the parameters of the materials obtained. By using this technology, researchers may create oxide coatings that act as a barrier to hydrogen. The research is possible thanks to the HyStor grant from the Small Grant Scheme program of the National Center for Research and Development.
