Citation: Siyi Zou, Ali Hammad, Jiahao Huang, Yuzhuo Jiang, Bin Tian, Fandi Ning, Wei Li, Qinglin Wen, Xingyu Zhu, Xiaochun Zhou. Gel/nonwoven composite membrane with dual water transport pathways for controlling hydrogen production by regulating water vapor absorption and diffusion[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(4): 111619. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111619 shu

Gel/nonwoven composite membrane with dual water transport pathways for controlling hydrogen production by regulating water vapor absorption and diffusion

Siyi Zou ^{a, b} ,
Ali Hammad ^{a, b} ,
Jiahao Huang ^{b, c} ,
Yuzhuo Jiang ^{a, b} ,
Bin Tian ^{a, b} ,
Fandi Ning ^{b, d} ,
Wei Li ^{a, b} ,
Qinglin Wen ^b ,
Xingyu Zhu ^{a, b} ,
Xiaochun Zhou ^{a, b, *,}

a.
School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
b.
Division of Advanced Nanomaterials, Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Suzhou 215123, China
c.
College of Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China
d.
Guangdong Institute of Semiconductor Micro-Nano Manufacturing Technology, Foshan 528225, China

xczhou2013@sinano.ac.cn

Received Date: 8 March 2025
Revised Date: 12 July 2025
Accepted Date: 21 July 2025
Available Online: 23 July 2025

Figures(5)

Calcium hydride (CaH₂) is a hydrogen storage material with high hydrogen storage density that is easy to transport and store. However, its hydrogen generation process is intense and liquid water causes uneven reactions in CaH₂. These two issues make the reaction of CaH₂ hard to control. To resolve the issues, a gel/nonwoven fabric composite material was prepared using nonwoven fabric and poly(vinyl alcohol)/polyacrylamide (PVA/PAM) hydrogel, and applied to a compact hydrogen generator. Water absorption and evaporation tests on composite membranes confirm that the membrane can control the water transport rate by adjusting the gel content, thereby regulating the hydrogen production of CaH₂. During the hydrolysis of CaH₂, the heat released promotes water evaporation, which absorbs some of this heat and helps maintain both temperature and water balance. When the gel content was 10%, the height of the separator was 1 mm, and the mass of CaH₂ was 1.5 g, the hydrogen generator achieved the fastest hydrogen production rate of 58.7 mL/min. Moreover, after expanding the size of the hydrogen generator, it can continuously produce hydrogen for over 260 min at room temperature. Finally, hydrogen was supplied to a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack. This research provides a new concept for controllable hydrogen production and portable fuel cells.
- Composite membrane,
- Hydrogen,
- Portable PEMFC,
- CaH₂,
- PVA/PAM hydrogel,
- Nonwoven fabric
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