Engineering Commons^™

Electrochemical Deposition Of Ag-Sn Nanoparticles For Photovoltaic Current Collection Efficiency, Rebecca Wilson

Honors Theses and Capstones

Photovoltaic cells utilize a semiconductor to harness the sun's energy, then conduct the energy by silver current collector lines to an energy storage device. To make photovoltaic cells less expensive and more energy efficient, silver-tin nanoparticles were researched to incorporate into the silver polymer paste that makes up current collector lines. The Ag-Sn alloy was synthesized by electrochemical deposition, and was then characterized by it's melting point and crystal structure.

Modeling Heat Conduction In Spiral Geometries, Parthasarathy M. Gomadam, Ralph E. White, John W. Weidner

John W Weidner

A two-dimensional (2-D) energy balance (the 2D model) is reduced to a one-dimensioanl (1-D) energy balance (the 1D-radial-spiral model) by a coordinate transformation approach. The 1D-radial-spiral model, even though 1-D, captures both radial and spiral heat conductions over a wide range of design parameters. By comparing the temperature predictions of the 1D-radial-spiral model and the 2D model, parameter ranges were identified where spiral conduction was important and where the 1D-radial-spiral model held. The 1D-radial-spiral model provided a sixtyfold savings in computation time over the 2D model. When coupled to electrochemistry, the 2D model took approximately 20 h to simulate a …

Proton Diffusion In Nickel Hydroxide Films: Measurement Of The Diffusion Coefficient As A Function Of State Of Charge, Sathya Motupally, Christopher C. Streinz, John W. Weidner

John W Weidner

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to measure the solid-state diffusion coefficient of protons in nickel hydroxide films at room temperature as a function of state of charge (SOC). A model for the complex faradaic impedance of the nickel hydroxide active material is presented and used to extract the diffusion coefficient of protons from the EIS data. Impedance data over a range of frequencies can be used to extract a constant diffusion coefficient without the knowledge of the initial mobile proton concentration or the form of the charge-transfer kinetic expression. The proton diffusion coefficient is a strong function of SOC …

Electrochemical Removal Of Carbon Monoxide In Reformate Hydrogen For Fueling Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, Sivagaminathan Balasubramanian, Charles E. Holland, John W. Weidner

John W Weidner

A twin-cell electrochemical filter is demonstrated to reduce the CO concentration in reformate hydrogen. In this design, the potential and gas flow are switched between the two filter cells so that alternative CO adsorption and oxidation occur in each cell while providing a continuous flow of H2 to a fuel cell. The effects of filter switching time and applied potential on the CO concentration of gas exiting the filter are presented here for a CO concentration of 1000 ppm in nitrogen flowing at 100 cm3/min. The parasitic loss of hydrogen from a corresponding reformate stream was estimated to be 1.5%.

Effect Of Ohmic, Mass-Transfer, And Kinetic Resistances On Linear-Sweep Voltammetry In A Cylindrical-Pore Electrode, John W. Weidner, Peter S. Fedkiw

John W Weidner

Extracting quantitative kinetic information from linear-sweep voltammograms (LSV) on porous electrodes is more difficult than on planar electrodes since the electrode surface is not uniformly accessible to the bulk supply of reactant or the counterelectrode. We present here a means to account for the effect of ohmic, mass-transfer, and kinetic resistances on LSV by modeling a pore in a porous matrix as a cylindrical-pore electrode, and solving the mass and charge conservation equations in the context of this geometry for the simply redox reaction O + ne^– <=> R where both O and R are soluble species. Both analytical …

Effect Of Water On The Electrochemical Oxidation Of Gas-Phase So2 In A Pem Electrolyzer For H2 Production, John Staser, Ramaraja P. Ramasamy, Premkumar Sivasubramanian, John W. Weidner

John W Weidner

Water plays a critical role in producing hydrogen from the electrochemical oxidation of SO2 in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer. Not only is water needed to keep the membrane hydrated, but it is also a reactant. One way to supply water is to dissolve SO2 in sulfuric acid and feed that liquid to the anode, but this process results in significant diffusion resistance for the SO2. Alternatively, we have developed a process where SO2 is fed as a gas to the anode compartment and reacts with water crossing the membrane to produce sulfuric acid. There was concern that the …

Modeling Li/CfX-Svo Hybrid-Cathode Batteries, Parthasarathy M. Gomadam, Donald R. Merritt, Erik R. Scott, Craig L. Schmidt, Paul M. Skarstad, John W. Weidner

John W Weidner

A mathematical model is developed that predicts the voltage-capacity behavior of a primary lithium battery containing a hybrid cathode, which combines the high energy density of carbon monofluoride (CFx) and the higher power density of silver vanadium oxide (SVO). The model is developed using material balances and kinetic expressions for each material, extracting kinetic and thermodynamic parameters from data collected on CFx and SVO batteries, and then integrating this information into a hybrid system. The full model is validated by comparing simulations to experimental data on Li/CFx-SVO hybrid-cathode batteries of various designs and for a range of discharge currents. The …

Effect Of Proton Diffusion, Electron Conductivity, And Charge-Transfer Resistance On Nickel Hydroxide Discharge Curves, John W. Weidner, Paul Timmerman

John W Weidner

Constant-current discharge curves for the nickel hydroxide electrode are simulated assuming resistances due to diffusion of protons and conduction of electrons through the nickel hydroxide film, and charge-transfer resistance at the film/electrolyte interface contribute to the polarization losses of the electrode. Good qualitative agreement is observed between the model predictions and experimental discharge curves. The results suggest that polarization losses due to diffusional limitations of protons is a critical factor in determining the characteristics of the discharge curve. Ohmic resistance has a significant effect on the discharge curves at the end of discharge, and charge-transfer resistance is a minor contributor …

Theoretical Analysis For Obtaining Physical Properties Of Composite Electrodes, Parthasarathy M. Gomadam, John W. Weidner, Thomas A. Zawodzinski, Andrew P. Saab

John W Weidner

A theoretical analysis is presented that allows in situ measurements of the physical properties of a composite electrode, namely, the electronic conductivity, the ionic conductivity, the exchange-current density, and the double-layer capacitance. Use is made of the current-voltage responses of the composite electrode to dc and ac polarizations under three different experimental configurations. This analysis allows the physical properties to be obtained even when the various resistances in the composite (e.g., ionic, electronic, and charge-transfer) are of comparable values.

Electrochemical Filtering Of Co From Fuel-Cell Reformate, Balasubramanian Lakshmanan, Wayne Huang, John W. Weidner

John W Weidner

A proton exchange membrane fuel cell was used as a flow reactor for continuous preferential oxidation of CO over H2 from 1.0% CO in H2 under pulse-potential control. By varying the pulse profile ~e.g., on-time, off-time, pulse potential! the CO and H2 oxidation currents were varied independently. The improvement in faradaic selectivity between CO and H2 oxidation results from the promotion of CO adsorption during the off ~i.e., open-circuit! portion of the pulse. Therefore, during the on portion CO oxidation was preferred while the surface was covered with CO.

Development Of A Novel Co Tolerant Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Anode, Andrew T. Haug, Ralph E. White, John W. Weidner, Wayne Huang

John W Weidner

Typically Pt is alloyed with metals such as Ru, Sn, or Mo to provide a more CO-tolerant, high-performance proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) anode. In this work, a layer of carbon-supported Ru is placed between the Pt catalyst and the anode flow field to form a filter. When oxygen is added to the fuel stream, it was predicted that the slow H₂ kinetics of Ru in this filter would become an advantage compared to Pt and Pt:Ru alloy anodes, allowing a greater percentage of O₂ to oxidize adsorbed CO to CO₂. With an anode feed …

Multimetallic Electrocatalysts Of Pt, Ru, And Ir Supported On Anatase And Rutile Tio2 For Oxygen Evolution In An Acid Environment, Roderick E. Fuentes, Jake Farell, John W. Weidner

John W Weidner

Anatase and rutile TiO2 were investigated as stable supports for different multimetallic nanoparticles (i.e., Pt:Ru, Pt:Ir, Pt:Ru:Ir, and Ir:Ru) and tested for activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Overall, Ir:Ru had the highest activity toward OER (i.e., current per gram of metal) compared to the other multimetallic combinations studied. This bimetallic supported on anatase TiO2 had a 53% higher current per gram of metal than an unsupported electrocatalyst of the same composition. The higher catalyst utilization of the supported electrocatalysts for OER is consistent with small, well-dispersed nanoparticles, which were observed in high resolution transmission electron microscopy images.

The Effect Of Current And Nickel Nitrate Concentration On The Deposition Of Nickel Hydroxide Films, Christopher C. Streinz, Andrew P. Hartman, Sathya Motupally, John W. Weidner

John W Weidner

An electrochemical quartz crystal nanobalance (EQCN) has been utilized to measure the mass of Ni(OH)2 films electrochemically deposited from Ni(NO3)2 solutions. The objective of this work was to quantify electrochemical deposition as a function of deposition conditions. The changing mass recorded on the EQCN was demonstrated to be the result of Ni(OH)2 deposition. Deposited mass was observed to increase proportionally with applied charge as suggested by previous investigators. Most significantly, the rate of deposition was found to decrease more than an order of magnitude as the Ni(NO3)2 concentration increased from 0.2 to 2.0M. The effect of concentration is shown to …

Application Of Electrospinning Technique In The Fabrication Of A Composite Electrode For Pemfc, Joshua Sightler, Eli Mcpherson, William A. Rigdon, Xinyu Huang

Faculty Publications

The Pt/C catalysts were mixed with carbon nanotube (CNT), Nafion™ dispersion and a fiber former, polymer poly-acrylic acid (PAA), to form an ink. The ink was deposited onto aluminum foil attached to a rotating collector via an electrospinning process. The ink composition, mixing procedure, and the E-spin parameters were studied for producing a uniform nanofiber mat on the aluminum substrate. The fiber-mat containing active catalyst ingredients was heat treated and decal transferred onto a Nafion membrane to form a membrane electrode assembly (MEA).

Investigation Of Carbon Corrosion Resistance Of Cnt Containing Electrode, Diana Larrabee, William A. Rigdon, Eli Mcpherson, Joshua Sightler, Xinyu Huang

Faculty Publications

Carbon support corrosion is one of the major degradation mechanisms of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Carbon oxidation occurs in PEM electrode and is accelerated at high potential created by adverse operating conditions and improper distribution of reactants and products [1, 2, 3]. Carbon corrosion can lead to the thinning of the electrode layer and severe performance degradation. The detailed mechanisms of carbon support corrosion induced performance loss are still not fully understood; it is believed that the following events contribute to the decay: (1) structural collapse of the porous electrode due to the loss of carbon; (2) carbon …

The Choice Of The Fraction Of Iron-Chromium Catalyst Powder Providing The Correct Fluidization Process, Jerzy Baron, Gabriela Berkowicz, Stanisław Kandefer, Witold Zukowski, Stefan Szarlik, Maria Zielecka, Wielgosz Zbigniew, Dariusz Jamanek

Witold Zukowski

Introduction

The synthesis in the fluid-bed catalytic reactor provides high efficiency by maximum use of surface of the catalyst. Iron-chromium catalyst is characterized by high activity and selectivity, that make it such an attractive bed for fluidized-bed reactor. The choice of the appropriate fraction of the catalyst is necessary to ensure a proper organization of fluid flow.

EXPERIMENTAL PART

The study involved three types of iron-chromium catalyst:catalysts DJ/6 and DJ/7 (are synthetized by Industrial Chemistry Research Institute in Warsaw) and TZC-3/1 catalyst (are produced in Zakłady Azotowe in Tarnowie -Moscicach S.A.). The studies also involved different fractions, which were obtained …