Role of Fe/Co Ratio in Dual Phase Ce0.8Gd0.2O2-δ-Fe3-xCoxO4 Composites for Oxygen Separation.

Dual-phase membranes are increasingly attracting attention as a solution for developing stable oxygen permeation membranes. Ce0.8Gd0.2O2-δ-Fe3-xCoxO4 (CGO-F(3-x)CxO) composites are one group of promising candidates. This study aims to understand the effect of the Fe/Co-ratio, i.e., x = 0, 1, 2, and 3 in Fe3-xCoxO4, on microstructure evolution and performance of the composite. The samples were prepared using the solid-state reactive sintering method (SSRS) to induce phase interactions, which determines the final composite microstructure. The Fe/Co ratio in the spinel structure was found to be a crucial factor in determining phase evolution, microstructure, and permeation of the material. Microstructure analysis showed that all iron-free composites had a dual-phase structure after sintering. In contrast, iron-containing composites formed additional phases with a spinel or garnet structure which likely contributed to electronic conductivity. The presence of both cations resulted in better performance than that of pure iron or cobalt oxides. This demonstrated that both types of cations were necessary to form a composite structure, which then allowed sufficient percolation of robust electronic and ionic conducting pathways. The maximum oxygen flux is jO2 = 0.16 and 0.11 mL/cm2·s at 1000 °C and 850 °C, respectively, of the 85CGO-FC2O composite, which is comparable oxygen permeation flux reported previously.

In Situ Topotactic Transformation of an Interstitial Alloy for CO Electroreduction.

Electrochemical reduction of CO to value-added products holds promise for storage of energy from renewable sources. Copper can convert CO into multi-carbon (C2+ ) products during CO electroreduction. However, developing a Cu electrocatalyst with a high selectivity for CO reduction and desirable production rates for C2+ products remains challenging. Herein, highly lattice-disordered Cu3 N with abundant twin structures as a precursor electrocatalyst is examined for CO reduction. Through in situ activation during the CO reduction reaction (CORR) and concomitant release of nitrogen, the obtained metallic Cu° catalyst particles inherit the lattice dislocations present in the parent Cu3 N lattice. The de-nitrified catalyst delivers an unprecedented C2+ Faradaic efficiency of over 90% at a current density of 727 mA cm-2 in a flow cell system. Using a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) electrolyzer with a solid-state electrolyte (SSE), a 17.4 vol% ethylene stream and liquid streams with concentration of 1.45 m and 230 × 10-3 m C2+ products at the outlet of the cathode and SSE-containment layer are obtained.

Influence of alkaline-earth metal substitution on structure, electrical conductivity and oxygen transport properties of perovskite-type oxides La0.6A0.4FeO3-δ (A = Ca, Sr and Ba).

Structural evolution, electrical conductivity, oxygen nonstoichiometry and oxygen transport properties of perovskite-type oxides La0.6A0.4FeO3-δ (A = Ca, Sr, and Ba) were investigated. La0.6Ca0.4FeO3-δ (LCF64) and La0.6Sr0.4FeO3-δ (LSF64) show a phase transformation in air at elevated temperature, i.e., from orthorhombic (Pnma) to rhombohedral (R3[combining macron]c) and from rhombohedral to cubic (Pm3[combining macron]m), respectively, while La0.6Ba0.4FeO3-δ (LBF64) remains cubic over the entire temperature range from room temperature to 1000 °C. The different phase behaviour of the solids is interpreted to reflect the decreased tendency for octahedral tilting with increasing alkaline-earth-metal dopant ion radius. The electrical conductivity of LSF64 is 191 S cm-1 in air at 800 °C, decreasing to a value of 114 S cm-1 at a pO2 of 0.01 atm, and found over this pO2 range roughly twice as high as those of LCF64 and LBF64. Failure to describe the data of electrical conductivity using Holstein's small polaron theory is briefly discussed. Chemical diffusion coefficients and surface exchange coefficients of the materials in the range 650-900 °C were extracted from data of electrical conductivity relaxation. Data of oxygen nonstoichiometry was used to calculate the vacancy diffusion coefficients from the measured chemical diffusion coefficients. The calculated migration enthalpies are found to decrease in the order LCF64 (1.08 ± 0.04 eV) > LSF64 (0.95 ± 0.01 eV) > LBF64 (0.81 ± 0.01 eV). The estimated ionic conductivities of the materials, at 900 °C, are within a factor of 1.4.

Structure, electrical conductivity and oxygen transport properties of perovskite-type oxides CaMn1-x-yTixFeyO3-δ.

Calcium manganite-based perovskite-type oxides hold promise for application in chemical looping combustion processes and oxygen transport membranes. In this study, we have investigated the structure, electrical conductivity and oxygen transport properties of perovskite-type oxides CaMn1-x-yTixFeyO3-δ. Distinct from previous work, data of high-temperature X-ray diffraction (HT-XRD) in the temperature range 600-1000 °C (with intervals of 25 °C) demonstrates that CaMnO3-δ (CM) transforms from orthorhombic to a mixture of orthorhombic and tetragonal phases between 875 °C and 900 °C. Rietveld refinements show the formation of a pure tetragonal phase at 975 °C and of a pure cubic phase at 1000 °C. Partial substitution of manganese by iron and/or titanium to yield CaMn0.875Ti0.125O3-δ (CMT), CaMn0.85Fe0.15O3-δ (CMF) or CaMn0.725Ti0.125Fe0.15O3-δ (CMTF) leads to different phase behaviours. While CMT remains orthorhombic up to the highest temperature covered by the HT-XRD experiments, CMF and CMTF undergo an orthorhombic → tetragonal → cubic sequence of phase transitions. Electrical conductivity relaxation measurements are conducted to determine the chemical diffusion coefficient (Dchem) and the surface exchange coefficient (kchem) of the materials. The results demonstrate that oxygen transport is hindered in the tetragonal phase, when occurring, which is attributed to a possible ordering of oxygen vacancies. The small polaron electrical conductivity of CM in the cited temperature range is lowered upon partial manganese substitution, by about 10% for CMF and up to half an order of magnitude for CMT and CMTF.

Insights into the CO2 Stability-Performance Trade-Off of Antimony-Doped SrFeO3-δ Perovskite Cathode for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.

One major challenge for the further development of solid oxide fuel cells is obtaining high-performance cathode materials with sufficient stability against reactions with CO2 present in the ambient atmosphere. However, the enhanced stability is often achieved by using material systems exhibiting decreased performance metrics. The phenomena underlying the performance and stability trade-off has not been well understood. This paper uses antimony-doped SrFeO3-δ as a model material to shed light on the relationship between the structure, stability, and performance of perovskite-structured oxides which are commonly used as cathode materials. X-ray absorption revealed that partial substitution of Fe by Sb leads to a series of changes in the local environment of the iron atom, such as a decrease in the iron oxidation state and increase in the oxygen coordination number. Theoretical calculations show that the structural changes are associated with an increase in both the oxygen vacancy formation energy and metal-oxygen bond energy. The area-specific resistance (ASR) of the perovskite oxide increases with Sb doping, indicating a deterioration of the oxygen reduction activity. Exposure of the materials to CO2 leads to depressed oxygen desorption and an increased ASR, which becomes less pronounced at higher Sb doping levels. Origin of the stability-performance trade-off is discussed based on the structural parameters.

Kinetic analysis of the thermal processing of silica and organosilica.

The incorporation of an organic group into sol-gel-derived silica causes significant changes in the structure and properties of these materials. Therefore, the thermal treatment of organosilica materials may require a different approach. In the present paper, kinetic parameters (activation energy, pre-exponential constant, and reaction models) have been determined from mass loss data for the dehydration, dehydroxylation, and decomposition reactions that take place upon heating silica and organosilica. Parameters were obtained by employing model-free isoconversional methods to data obtained under multiple heating rates as well as by multivariate analysis of the kinetics using a multistep reaction model with distributed activation energy. For silica, it can be concluded that the reaction atmosphere (i.e., inert or thermo-oxidative) has no influence on the reaction rate of the dehydration and dehydroxylation reactions that are responsible for the densification of the material. Under inert atmosphere, full dehydration can be reached without affecting the organic moiety. Achieving complete dehydroxylation of the organosilica is practically impossible as decomposition does manifest itself under commonly employed calcination temperatures. This indicates that prudence is required in designing a heat treatment program for these hybrid materials. To aid in optimizing the thermal treatment, a predictive model was developed, which can be used to forecast the extent of dehydration, dehydroxylation, and decomposition reactions under a multitude of temperature programs.

Enhancing the oxygen permeation rate of Zr(0.84)Y(0.16)O(1.92)-La(0.8)Sr(0.2)Cr(0.5)Fe(0.5)O(3-δ) dual-phase hollow fiber membrane by coating with Ce(0.8)Sm(0.2)O(1.9) nanoparticles.

Zr0.84Y0.16O1.92-La0.8Sr0.2Cr0.5Fe0.5O3-δ (YSZ-LSCrF) dual-phase composite hollow fiber membranes were prepared by a combined phase-inversion and sintering method. The shell surface of the hollow fiber membrane was modified with Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 (SDC) via a drop-coating method. As the rate of oxygen permeation of the unmodified membrane is partly controlled by the surface exchange kinetics, coating of a porous layer of SDC on the shell side (oxygen reduction side) of the hollow fiber membrane was found to improve its oxygen permeability. Rate enhancements up to 113 and 48% were observed, yielding a maximum oxygen flux of 0.32 and 4.53 mL min(-1) cm(-2) under air/helium and air/CO gradients at 950 °C, respectively. Excess coating of SDC was found to induce significant gas phase transport limitations and hence lower the rate of oxygen permeation. A model was proposed to calculate the length of triple phase boundaries (TPBs) for the coated dual-phase composite membrane and to explain the effect of coating on the oxygen permeability.

Oxygen surface exchange kinetics of SrTi(1-x)Fe(x)O(3-δ) mixed conducting oxides.

The oxygen surface exchange kinetics of mixed conducting perovskite oxides SrTi(1-x)Fe(x)O(3-δ) (x = 0, 0.01, 0.05, 0.35, 0.5) has been investigated as a function of temperature and oxygen partial pressure using the pulse-response (18)O-(16)O isotope exchange (PIE) technique. Arrhenius activation energies range from 140 kJ mol(-1) for x = 0 to 86 kJ mol(-1) for x = 0.5. Extrapolating the temperature dependence to the intermediate temperature range, 500-600 °C, indicates that the rate of oxygen exchange, in air, increases with increasing iron mole fraction, but saturates at the highest iron mole fraction for the given series. The observed behavior is concomitant with corresponding increases in both electronic and ionic conductivity with increasing x in SrTi(1-x)Fe(x)O(3-δ). Including literature data of related perovskite-type oxides Ba(0.5)Sr(0.5)Co(0.8)Fe(0.2)O(3-δ), La(0.6)Sr(0.4)Co(0.2)Fe(0.8)O(3-δ), La(0.6)Sr(0.4)CoO(3-δ), and Sm(0.5)Sr(0.5)CoO(3-δ), a linear relationship is observed in the log-log plot between oxygen exchange rate and oxide ionic conductivity with a slope fairly close to unity, suggesting that it is the magnitude of the oxide ionic conductivity that governs the rate of oxygen exchange in these solids. The distribution of oxygen isotopomers ((16)O(2), (16)O(18)O, (18)O(2)) in the effluent pulse can be interpreted on the basis of a two-step exchange mechanism for the isotopic exchange reaction. Accordingly, the observed power law dependence of the overall surface exchange rate on oxygen partial pressure turns out to be an apparent one, depending on the relative rates of both steps involved in the adopted two-step scheme. Supplementary research is, however, required to elucidate which of the two possible reaction schemes better reflects the actual kinetics of oxygen surface exchange on SrTi(1-x)Fe(x)O(3-δ).

A novel pulse isotopic exchange technique for rapid determination of the oxygen surface exchange rate of oxide ion conductors.

We demonstrate the use of a novel pulse (18)O-(16)O isotopic exchange technique for the rapid determination of the oxygen surface exchange rate of oxide ion conductors while simultaneously providing insight into the mechanism of the oxygen exchange reaction, which contributes to the efficient development of devices incorporating these solids, such as solid oxide fuel cells and oxygen transport membranes.

Modification of different zirconium propoxide precursors by diethanolamine. Is there a shelf stability issue for sol-gel applications?

Modification of different zirconium propoxide precursors with H(2)dea was investigated by characterization of the isolated modified species. Upon modification of zirconium n-propoxide and [Zr(O(n)Pr)(O(i)Pr)(3)((i)PrOH)](2) with (1/2) a mol equivalent of H(2)dea the complexes [Zr(2)(O(n)Pr)(6)(OCH(2)CH(2))(2)NH](2) (1) and [Zr(2)(O(n)Pr)(2)(O(i)Pr)(4)(OCH(2)CH(2))(2)NH](2) (2) were obtained. However, (1)H-NMR studies of these tetranuclear compounds showed that these are not time-stable either in solution or solid form. The effect of this time instability on material properties is demonstrated by light scattering and TEM experiments. Modification of zirconium isopropoxide with either (1/2) or 1 equivalent mol of H(2)dea results in formation of the trinuclear complex, Zr{eta(3)mu(2)-NH(C(2)H(4)O)(2)}(3)[Zr(O(i)Pr)(3)](2)(iPrOH)(2) (3) countering a unique nona-coordinated central zirconium atom. This complex 3 is one of the first modified zirconium propoxide precursors shown to be stable in solution for long periods of time. The particle size and morphology of the products of sol-gel synthesis are strongly dependent on the time factor and eventual heat treatment of the precursor solution. Reproducible sol-gel synthesis requires the use of solution stable precursors.

Chemistry of 2,2,6,6,-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione (Hthd) modification of zirconium and hafnium propoxide precursors.

The modification of different zirconium propoxide and hafnium propoxide precursors with 2,2,6,6,-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione (Hthd) was investigated by characterization of the isolated modified species. The complexes [Zr(OnPr)3(thd)](2), [Zr(OnPr)(OiPr)2(thd)]2, Zr(OiPr)(thd)3, [Hf(OnPr)3(thd)]2, and Hf(OiPr)(thd)3 were isolated and characterized. The structure of the n-propoxide analogue of Zr(OiPr)(thd)3 could not be refined, but its existence was clearly demonstrated by XRD and 1H NMR. The modification of the propoxide precursors involves mono- and trisubstituted intermediate compounds and does not involve a disubstituted compound; thus, the commercial product that is claimed to be "Zr(OiPr)2(thd)2" and is most commonly used for the MOCVD preparation of ZrO2 does not exist. No evidence was found for the presence of such a compound in either zirconium- or hafnium-based systems. Formation of the dimeric hydroxo-di-thd-substituted complex, [Hf(OH)(OiPr)(thd)2]2, which could be isolated only for hafnium-based systems, occurs on microhydrolysis. All heteroleptic intermediates are eventually transformed to the thermodynamically stable Zr(thd)4 or Hf(thd)4) The compounds obtained from isopropoxide precursors showed a higher stability than those with n-propoxide ligands or a combination of both types. In addition, it is important to note that residual alcohol facilitates the transformation and strongly enhances its rate. The unusually low solubility and volatility of MIV(thd)4 has been shown to be due to close packing and strong van der Waals interactions in the crystal structures of these compounds.

Stabilization and destabilization of zirconium propoxide precursors by acetylacetone.

The stabilizing and destabilizing mechanism in the action of acetylacetone on zirconium propoxide precursors is revealed; the nature of heteroleptic intermediates provides an explanation.