Bhosale R., Shende R., Puszynski J.
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, US
Keywords: ferrites, H2, nanoparticles, nanorods, water-splitting
As the current research trends in H2 generation using thermochemical water-splitting reaction are focused towards lowering the H2 generation temperatures, it is believed that the nano-sized ferrite materials with porous morphology will significantly reduce the water-splitting and regeneration temperatures. In this investigation, several ferrite materials with nanoparticle porous morphology were synthesized using sol-gel technique. As-synthesized gels were aged and heated upto 600oC. In addition, ferrite nanorods were synthesized by an inorganic condensation method using a PEG surfactant template. In this method, the ferrite precursors, NaOH and PEG-400- 20,000 were mixed in the desired weight ratio and ground with a pestle and mortar. Mixing and grinding resulted in a black slurry, which was sonicated in deionized water and centrifuged to obtain a precipitate of a ferrite material. The precipitate was dried, pulverized, and calcined at around 600oC for 2-3 hrs. The calcined powders thus obtained were characterized using XRD, BET surface area analyzer, SEM and TEM. The calcined nano-sized ferrite powders were placed in a packed bed reactor for H2 generation from the thermochemical water-splitting reaction. The results obtained on the synthesis of different ferrite materials, characterization, and H2 yield during water-splitting reaction will be presented in detail.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: 1, Nanotechnology 2011: Advanced Materials, CNTs, Particles, Films and Composites
Published: June 13, 2011
Pages: 237 - 240
Industry sector: Advanced Materials & Manufacturing
Topic: Nanoparticle Synthesis & Applications
ISBN: 978-1-4398-7142-3