Wissenschaftliche Artikel der BAM
Filtern
Dokumenttyp
Sprache
- Englisch (8)
Referierte Publikation
- ja (8)
Schlagworte
Organisationseinheit der BAM
Catalysts are important components in chemical processes because they lower the activation energy and thus determine the rate, efficiency and selectivity of a chemical reaction. This property plays an important role in many of today’s processes, including the electrochemical splitting of water. Due to the continuous development of catalyst materials, they are becoming more complex, which makes a reliable evaluation of physicochemical properties challenging even for modern analytical measurement techniques and industrial manufacturing.
We present a fast, vacuum-free and non-destructive analytical approach using multi-sample spectroscopic ellipsometry to determine relevant material parameters such as film thickness, porosity and composition of mesoporous IrOx–TiOy films. Mesoporous IrOx–TiOy films were deposited on Si wafers by sol–gel synthesis, varying the composition of the mixed oxide films between 0 and 100 wt%Ir. The ellipsometric modeling is based on an anisotropic Bruggeman effective medium approximation (a-BEMA) to determine the film thickness and volume fraction of the material and pores. The volume fraction of the material was again modeled using a Bruggeman EMA to determine the chemical composition of the materials. The ellipsometric fitting results were compared with complementary methods, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) as well as environmental ellipsometric porosimetry (EEP).
Iron-based catalysts are employed in CO2-FTS due to their ability to convert CO2 into CO in a first step and their selectivity towards higher hydrocarbons in a second CO hydrogenation step. According to the literature, iron carbides represent the active phase for hydrocarbon formation and are claimed to emerge in the presence of CO. We propose nanostructured FeOx films as model systems to assess information about the complex phase transformations during CO2-FTS. Mesoporous hematite, ferrihydrite, maghemite, maghemite/magnetite films were exposed to CO2-FTS atmospheres at 20 bar and 300°C. Up to three distinct phases were observed depending on the timeon-stream (TOS): a sintered maghemite/magnetite phase, a carbidic core-shell structure, and a low-crystalline, needle-type oxide phase. Our findings indicate that the formation of an intermediary maghemite/magnetite phase, predominant after short TOS (30 h), precedes the evolution of the carbide phase.
Yet, even after prolonged TOS (185 h), no full conversion into a bulk carbide is observed.
With the increasing production of renewable energy and concomitant depletion of fossil resources, the demand for efficient water splitting electrocatalysts continues to grow. Iridium (Ir) and iridium oxides (IrOₓ) are currently the most promising candidates for an efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in acidic medium, which remains the bottleneck in water electrolysis. Yet, the extremely high costs for Ir hamper a widespread production of hydrogen (H₂) on an industrial scale. Herein, the authors report a concept for the synthesis of electrode coatings with template-controlled mesoporosity surface-modified with highly active Ir species. The improved utilization of noble metal species relies on the synthesis of soft-templated metal oxide supports and a subsequent shape-conformal deposition of Ir species via atomic layer deposition (ALD) at two different reaction temperatures. The study reveals that a minimum Ir content in the mesoporous titania-based support is mandatory to provide a sufficient electrical bulk conductivity. After ALD, a significantly enhanced OER activity results in dependency of the ALD cycle number and temperature. The most active developed electrocatalyst film achieves an outstanding mass-specific activity of 2622 mA mg(Ir)⁻¹ at 1.60 V(RHE) in a rotating-disc electrode (RDE) setup at 25 °C using 0.5 m H₂SO₄ as a supporting electrolyte.
Theoretical calculations suggest a strong dependence of electrical conductivity and doping concentration in transition-metal doped titania. Herein, we present a combined theoretical and experimental approach for the prediction of relative phase stability and electrical conductivity in niobium-doped titania as model system.
Our method paves the way towards the development of materials with improved electrical properties.
Hydrogen features a very high specific energy density and is therefore a promising candidate for clean fuel from renewable resources. Water electrolysis can convert electrical energy into storable and transportable hydrogen gas. Under acidic conditions, platinum is the most active and stable monometallic catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Yet, platinum is rare and needs to be used efficiently. Here, we report a synthesis concept for colloidal bimetallic platinum–ruthenium and rhodium–ruthenium nanoparticles (PtRuNP, RhRuNP) and their incorporation into ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) films. The films exhibit high surface area, good electrical conductivity and well-dispersed nanoparticles inside the mesopores. The nanoparticles retain their size, crystallinity and composition during carbonization. In the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), PtRuNP/OMC catalyst films show up to five times higher activity per Pt than Pt/C/Nafion® and PtRu/C/Nafion® reference catalysts.
Detection of the electronic structure of iron-(III)-oxo oligomers forming in aqueous solutions
(2017)
The nature of the small iron-oxo oligomers in iron-(III) aqueous solutions has a determining effect on the chemical processes that govern the formation of nanoparticles in aqueous phase. Here we report on a liquid-Jet photoelectron-spectroscopy experiment for the investigation of the electronic structure of the occurring iron-oxo oligomers in FeCl3 aqueous solutions. The only iron species in the as-prepared 0.75 M solution are Fe3+ monomers. Addition of NaOH initiates Fe3+ hydrolysis which is followed by the formation of iron-oxo oligomers. At small enough NaOH concentrations, corresponding to approximately [OH]/[Fe] = 0.2–0.25 ratio, the iron oligomers can be stabilized for several hours without engaging in further aggregation. Here, we apply a combination of non-resonant as well as iron 2p and Oxygen 1s resonant photoelectron spectroscopy from a liquid microjet to detect the electronic structure of the occurring species. Specifically, the oxygen 1s partial electron yield X-ray absorption (PEY-XA) spectra are found to exhibit a peak well below the onset of liquid water and OH (aq) absorption. The iron 2p absorption gives rise to signal centered between the main absorption bands typical for aqueous Fe3+. Absorption bands in both PEY-XA spectra are found to correlate with an enhanced photoelectron Peak near 20 eV binding energy, which demonstrates the sensitivity of resonant photoelectron (RPE) spectroscopy to mixing between iron and ligand orbitals. These various signals from the iron-oxo oligomers exhibit Maximum intensity at [OH]/[Fe] = 0.25 ratio. For the same ratio, we observe changes in the pH as well as in complementary Raman spectra, which can be assigned to the Transition from monomeric to oligomeric species. At approximately [OH]/[Fe] = 0.3 we begin to observe particles larger than 1 nm in radius, detected by small-angle X-ray scattering.
Micro structured reactors are attractive candidates for further process intensification in heterogeneous catalysis. However, they require catalytic coatings with significantly improved space-time yields compared to traditional supported catalysts. We report the facile synthesis of homogeneous nanocrystalline Pt coatings with hierarchical pore structure by electrochemical dealloying of amorphous sputter-deposited platinum silicide layers. Thickness, porosity and surface composition of the catalysts can be controlled by the dealloying procedure. XPS analysis indicates that the catalyst surface is primarily composed of metallic Pt. Catalytic tests in gas-phase hydrogenation of butadiene reveal the typical activity, selectivity and activation energy of nanocrystalline platinum. However, space time yields are about 13 to 200 times higher than values reported for Pt-based catalysts in literature. The highly open metallic pore structure prevents heat and mass transport limitations allowing for very fast reactions and reasonable stability at elevated temperatures.
The reaction of iron chlorides with an alkaline reagent is one of the most prominent methods for the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles. We studied the particle formation mechanism using triethanolamine as reactant and stabilizing agent. In situ fast-X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering provide information on the oxidation state and the structural information at the same time. In situ data were complemented by ex situ transmission electron microscopy, wide-angle X-ray scattering and Raman analysis of the formed nanoparticles. The formation of maghemite nanoparticles (γ-Fe2O3) from ferric and ferrous chloride was investigated. Prior to the formation of these nanoparticles, the formation and conversion of intermediate phases (akaganeite, iron(II, III) hydroxides) was observed which undergoes a morphological and structural collapse. The thus formed small magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) grow further and convert to maghemite with increasing reaction time.