Bhosale R.R., Pasala X., Yelakanti S., Puszynski J.A., Shende R.V.
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, US
Keywords: ferrite nanomaterials, H2 generation, Sol Gel, thermochemical water-splitting
Solar-driven thermochemical water-splitting using redox materials constitute a promising high-efficiency, self-sustainable pathway for H2 production from water. In this investigation, several un-doped and doped ferrite nanomaterials were synthesized using sol-gel technique and investigated for H2 generation from thermochemical water-splitting reaction. As-synthesized gels were aged for 24 h and heated rapidly upto 600oC – 1000oC and quenched in air. The calcined powders thus obtained were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, BET surface area analyzer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The calcined ferrite material was placed in a Inconel packed bed reactor and multiple thermochemical water-splitting and regeneration steps were performed at various processing conditions. In addition to this, attempts were made towards thermal stabilization of these ferrite nanomaterials by using grain growth inhibitors and the H2 generation ability of the thermally stabilized ferrites was investigated by performing multiple thermochemical cycles. The sol-gel synthesis method, characterization of the synthesized ferrites, thermal stabilization of the sol-gel derived ferrites using several grain growth inhibitors and the transient H2 generation profiles obtained during multiple thermochemical cycles using these ferrite materials will be presented in detail.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: Technical Proceedings of the 2012 Clean Technology Conference and Trade Show
Published: June 18, 2012
Pages: 186 - 189
Industry sector: Energy & Sustainability
Topic: Energy Storage
ISBN: 978-1-4665-6277-6