Exsolution of Co-Fe Alloy Nanoparticles on the PrBaFeCoO5+δ Layered Perovskite Monitored by Neutron Powder Diffraction and Catalytic Effect on Dry Reforming of Methane.

Reversible exsolution and dissolution of metal nanoparticles (NPs) in complex oxides have been investigated as an efficient strategy to improve the performance and durability of the catalysts for thermal and electrochemical energy conversion. Here, in situ exsolution of Co-Fe alloy NPs from the layered perovskite PrBaFeCoO5+δ (PBFC) and their dissolution back into the oxide host have been monitored for the first time by in situ neutron powder diffraction and confirmed by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. Catalytic tests for dry reforming of methane showed stable operation over ∼100 h at 800 °C with negligible carbon deposition (<0.3 mg/gcat h). The CO2 and CH4 conversions are among the highest achieved by layered double perovskites. The cyclability of the PBFC catalyst and the potential to improve the catalytic activity by adjusting the composition, size, and the NP distribution would pave the way for highly efficient energy conversion applications.

Exsolution of Ni Nanoparticles from A-Site-Deficient Layered Double Perovskites for Dry Reforming of Methane and as an Anode Material for a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell.

Exsolution is a promising technique to design metal nanoparticles for electrocatalysis and renewable energy. In this work, Ni-doped perovskites, (Pr0.5Ba0.5)1-x/2Mn1-x/2Nix/2O3-δ with x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 (S-PBMNx), were prepared to design exsolution systems as solid oxide fuel cell anodes and for catalysis applications. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses demonstrated that correlating A-site deficiency with Ni content can effectively induce exsolution of all Ni under H2 atmosphere at T ∼ 875 °C, yielding the reduced (exsolved) R-PBMNx materials. On heating the exsolution systems in air, metal incorporation in the oxide lattice did not occur; instead, the Ni nanoparticles oxidized to NiO on the layered perovskite surface. The lowest area-specific resistance (ASR) under wet 5% H2/N2 in symmetrical cells was observed for R-PBMN0.2 anode (ASR ∼ 0.64 Ω cm2 at 850 °C) due to the highest Ni particle density in the R-PBMNx series. The best performance for dry reforming of methane (DRM) was also obtained for R-PBMN0.2, with CH4 and CO2 conversion rates at 11 and 32%, respectively, and the highest production of H2 (37%). The DRM activity of R-PBMN0.2 starts at 800 °C and is sustained for up to at least 5 h operation with little carbon deposition (0.017 g·gcat-1·h-1). These results clearly demonstrate that varying Ni-doping in layered double perovskite oxides is an effective strategy to manipulate the electrochemical performance and catalytic activity for energy conversion purposes.

Structure and reactivity with oxygen of Pr2NiO(4+δ): an in situ synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction study.

The promising SOFC cathode material Pr2NiO(4.22) has been studied in situ under a pure oxygen atmosphere from 25 to 950 °C by high resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. At room temperature (RT) δ = 0.22(1), the average crystal structure turns out to be monoclinic. The subtle monoclinic distortion (γ = 90.066(1)° at RT), retained up to 460 °C, is interpreted in terms of specific tilt schemes of the NiO6 octahedra. It is also shown that Pr2NiO(4.22) is incommensurately structurally modulated already at room temperature, in the same manner as the homologous cobaltate La2CoO(4.14). The phase transition to the High Temperature Tetragonal (HTT) phase was completed at 480 °C without any evidence for the Low Temperature Orthorhombic (LTO) phase allowing clarifying the phase diagram of this K2NiF4-type ternary oxide. Moreover, it turns out that above 800 °C, the HTT phase transforms reversibly into two coexisting isomorphous tetragonal phases. The incommensurate modulation subsists up to 950 °C, although modified concomitantly with the two abovementioned phase transformations. In addition, the role of kinetics on the decomposition process is highlighted through thermo-gravimetric analyses.

Reduction of Sr2MnO4 investigated by high temperature in situ neutron powder diffraction under hydrogen flow.

This experiment emphasizes the first example of two-phase sequential Rietveld refinements throughout a solid/gas chemical reaction monitored by Neutron Powder Diffraction (NPD) at high temperature. The reduction of the n = 1 Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) oxide Sr(2)MnO(4) heated under a flow of 5% H(2)-He has been investigated throughout two heating/cooling cycles involving isothermal heating at 500 and 550 °C. Oxygen loss proceeds above T ∼ 470 °C and increases with temperature and time. When the oxygen deintercalated from the "MnO(2)" equatorial layers of the structure results in the Sr(2)MnO(3.69(2)) composition, the RP phase undergoes a first order I4/mmm → P2(1)/c, tetragonal to monoclinic phase transition as observed from time-resolved in situ NPD. The phase transition proceeds at 500 °C but is incomplete; the weight ratio of the P2(1)/c phase reaches ∼41% after 130 min of isothermal heating. The fraction of the monoclinic phase increases with increasing temperature and the phase transition is complete after 80 min of isothermal heating at 550 °C. The composition of the reduced material refined to Sr(2)MnO(3.55(1)) and does not vary on extended heating at 550 °C and subsequent cooling to room temperature (RT). The symmetry of Sr(2)MnO(3.55(1)) is monoclinic at 550 °C and therefore consistent with the RT structure determined previously for the Sr(2)MnO(3.64) composition obtained from ex situ reduction. Consequently, the stresses due to phase changes on heating/cooling in reducing atmosphere may be minimized. The rate constants for the reduction of Sr(2)MnO(4.00) determined from the evolution of weight ratio of the tetragonal and monoclinic phase in the time-resolved isothermal NPD data collected on the isotherms at 500 and 550 °C are k(500) = 0.110 × 10(-2) and k(550) = 0.516 × 10(-2) min(-1) giving an activation energy of ∼163 kJ mol(-1) for the oxygen deintercalation reaction.

Use of in situ neutron diffraction to monitor high-temperature, solid/H2-gas reactions.

For the first time, the chemistry in H(2) gas of a perovskite-like material, Pr(2)Sr(2)CrNiO(8), has been monitored at temperatures up to approximately 700 degrees C, in situ, by neutron powder diffraction.