AlFe2B2: High Efficiency and Lower-Cost Catalyst for Water ... · and the low cost of catalyst...
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AlFe 2 B 2 : High Efficiency and Lower-Cost Catalyst for Water Electrolysis Don Norton † , Dallas Mann and Michael Shatruk* Work based on research from Xiaoyan Tan, Ping Chai, Corey M. Thompson, and Michael Shatruk* (1.) *Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, 95 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, United States, † Millilumen Middle School, Sanford Florida Can exploring various synthetic approaches to the synthesis of AlFe 2 B 2 prove successful for produce a highly efficient catalysis at a lower cost than traditional water electrolysis? 1. A Stable Graphitic, Nanocarbon-Encapsulated, Cobalt-Rich Core- Shell Electrocatalyst as an Oxygen Electrode in a Water Electrolyzer, Advanced Energy Materials (2018). DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201702838 Method A: Arc-Melting The starting materials were mixed in the Al:Fe:B = 3:2:2 ratio (total mass = 0.35 g) and pressed into a 10 mm pellet. The pellet was arc-melted under argon. To improve homogeneity of the product, the obtained ingot was sealed under vacuum in a quartz tube and annealed (heated) at 1173 K for 7 days. Hydrogen for many years has been touted as the clean energy breakthrough. Currently, creating hydrogen suffers from high energy inputs to produce the electrolysis process. Today, most Hydrogen is produced from petroleum gas reformation; an inefficient and eco- unfriendly method. Using conventional fuels in a more efficient way can make Hydrogen a suitable solution to achieving an eco-friendly environment and decreasing fossil-fuel energy usage. Highly efficient water electrolysis which depends on anode and cathode reactions is possible with the application of AlFe 2 B 2 as a catalysis. Materials Aluminum powder (99.95%), Boron powder (95–97%). Materials were used as received. Iron powder (98%) was further purified by heating under a flow of H2 gas. During sample preparation, all operations were carried out in an argon-filled glovebox (concentration of Oxygen < 1 ppm at.0.0 - 0.2). Method B: Synthesis from Ga Flux The starting materials were mixed in the Al:Fe:B:Ga = 1.5:1.8:2:10 ratio (total mass = 2 g) and loaded into crucible. The crucible was placed in a quartz tube and sealed under vacuum. The mixture was annealed (heated) at 1173 K for 7 days. The Ga flux was removed by centrifugation. Powder was created from material. X-ray Diffraction After annealed (heated) and cooled, the material was finely ground, homogenized and mounted. This process was used to determine the atomic and molecular structure of the crystal sample. After one (1) hour of analysis, the average bulk composition is determined. Dallas Mann - Thank you for your time, guidance, knowledge patience and tolerance in the support of my learning, Judy Roth, Dr. Michael Shatruk and the team at the FSU Solid State Chemistry Lab Jose Sanchez and the CIRL staff at the NHMFL. This work is supported by the US National Science Foundation under Award No. DMR-1704712. A portion of this work was performed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, which is supported by National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement No. DMR-1644779 and the State of Florida. Based on the remarkable performance of AlFe 2 B 2 , kinetics (speed of molecule movement), long-term stability of the core-shell of AlFe 2 B 2, (when compared to the industry standard IrO 2 and RuO 2 ) and the low cost of catalyst material (AlFe 2 B 2 ), AlFe 2 B 2 represents an attractive alternative to rare earth materials. Experimental data outperformed expected outcomes and were equivalent to calculated outcomes. Additional research is currently be conducted to convert materials into a “ink” used on a porous nickel‐foam substrate. Results are currently pending. X-ray powder diffraction patterns of AlFe 2 B 2 above was obtained by arc-melting a mixture of elements, after treating the products of arc- melting with dilute HCl and by the reaction between elements in Ga flux. Finally, the patterns above were calculated on the basis of the crystal structure of AlFe 2 B 2 . This is shown for comparison. MATERIALS AND SYNTHESIS METHODS STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE CONCLUSION REFERENCES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUE Catalyst Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) AlFe 2 B 2 (Before Acid Treatment) AlFe 2 B 2 (After Acid Treatment) AlFe 2 B 2 (Calculated) Al 13 Fe 4 (Calculated) Water electrolysis is one of the most common ways to produce hydrogen gas. A suitable catalyst is needed for stable electrocatalytic water splitting. In electrocatalytic water splitting, oxygen gas generates in the anode due to the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a slow electrochemical reaction as compared with the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Thus, a suitable electrocatalyst is needed for stable electrocatalytic water splitting(1). Ruthenium and iridium oxides (rare earth metals) are considered state-of-the-art electrocatalysts in OER, but for large-scale water splitting, large amounts of these elements are required. Availability, cost and environmental damage must be considered when using rare-earth-elements (REM’s). AlFe 2 B 2 offers a environmentally friendly, low-cost alternative to REM’s. Long-term increased energy efficiency is an additional benefit when using AlFe 2 B 2 as an electro-catalysis.
Transcript of AlFe2B2: High Efficiency and Lower-Cost Catalyst for Water ... · and the low cost of catalyst...
AlFe2B2: High Efficiency and Lower-Cost Catalyst for Water Electrolysis Don Norton†, Dallas Mann and Michael Shatruk* Work based on research from Xiaoyan Tan, Ping Chai, Corey M. Thompson, and Michael Shatruk* (1.) *Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, 95 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32306, United States, †Millilumen Middle School, Sanford Florida
Can exploring various synthetic approaches to the synthesis of AlFe2B2 prove successful for produce a highly efficient catalysis at a lower cost than traditional water electrolysis?
1. A Stable Graphitic, Nanocarbon-Encapsulated, Cobalt-Rich Core-Shell Electrocatalyst as an Oxygen Electrode in a Water Electrolyzer, Advanced Energy Materials (2018). DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201702838
Method A: Arc-Melting The starting materials were mixed in the Al:Fe:B = 3:2:2 ratio (total mass = 0.35 g) and pressed into a 10 mm pellet. The pellet was arc-melted under argon. To improve homogeneity of the product, the obtained ingot was sealed under vacuum in a quartz tube and annealed (heated) at 1173 K for 7 days.
Hydrogen for many years has been touted as the clean energy breakthrough. Currently, creating hydrogen suffers from high energy inputs to produce the electrolysis process. Today, most Hydrogen is produced from petroleum gas reformation; an inefficient and eco-unfriendly method. Using conventional fuels in a more efficient way can make Hydrogen a suitable solution to achieving an eco-friendly environment and decreasing fossil-fuel energy usage. Highly efficient water electrolysis which depends on anode and cathode reactions is possible with the application of AlFe2B2 as a catalysis.
Materials Aluminum powder (99.95%), Boron powder (95–97%). Materials were used as received. Iron powder (98%) was further purified by heating under a flow of H2 gas. During sample preparation, all operations were carried out in an argon-filled glovebox (concentration of Oxygen < 1 ppm at.0.0 - 0.2).
Method B: Synthesis from Ga Flux The starting materials were mixed in the Al:Fe:B:Ga = 1.5:1.8:2:10 ratio (total mass = 2 g) and loaded into crucible. The crucible was placed in a quartz tube and sealed under vacuum. The mixture was annealed (heated) at 1173 K for 7 days. The Ga flux was removed by centrifugation. Powder was created from material.
X-ray Diffraction After annealed (heated) and cooled, the material was finely ground, homogenized and mounted. This process was used to determine the atomic and molecular structure of the crystal sample. After one (1) hour of analysis, the average bulk composition is determined.
Dallas Mann - Thank you for your time, guidance, knowledge patience and tolerance in the support of my learning, Judy Roth, Dr. Michael Shatruk and the team at the FSU Solid State Chemistry Lab Jose Sanchez and the CIRL staff at the NHMFL.
This work is supported by the US National Science Foundation under Award No. DMR-1704712. A portion of this work was performed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, which is supported by National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement No. DMR-1644779 and the State of Florida.
Based on the remarkable performance of AlFe2B2 , kinetics (speed of molecule movement), long-term stability of the core-shell of AlFe2B2, (when compared to the industry standard IrO2 and RuO2) and the low cost of catalyst material (AlFe2B2), AlFe2B2 represents an attractive alternative to rare earth materials. Experimental data outperformed expected outcomes and were equivalent to calculated outcomes. Additional research is currently be conducted to convert materials into a “ink” used on a porous nickel‐foam substrate. Results are currently pending.
X-ray powder diffraction patterns of AlFe2B2 above was obtained by arc-melting a mixture of elements, after treating the products of arc-melting with dilute HCl and by the reaction between elements in Ga flux. Finally, the patterns above were calculated on the basis of the crystal structure of AlFe2B2 . This is shown for comparison.
MATERIALS AND SYNTHESIS METHODS STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT CHARACTERIZATION TECHNIQUE
Catalyst
Oxygen evolution reaction (OER)
Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER)
AlFe2B2 (Before Acid Treatment)
AlFe2B2 (After Acid Treatment)
AlFe2B2 (Calculated)
Al13Fe4 (Calculated)
Water electrolysis is one of the most common ways to produce hydrogen gas. A suitable catalyst is needed for stable electrocatalytic water splitting. In electrocatalytic water splitting, oxygen gas generates in the anode due to the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a slow electrochemical reaction as compared with the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Thus, a suitable electrocatalyst is needed for stable electrocatalytic water splitting(1). Ruthenium and iridium oxides (rare earth metals) are considered state-of-the-art electrocatalysts in OER, but for large-scale water splitting, large amounts of these elements are required. Availability, cost and environmental damage must be considered when using rare-earth-elements (REM’s). AlFe2B2 offers a environmentally friendly, low-cost alternative to REM’s. Long-term increased energy efficiency is an additional benefit when using AlFe2B2 as an electro-catalysis.
