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2007

University of South Carolina

Chemical Engineering

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

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 Jan 2007

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

Faculty Publications

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 …


Low-Temperature Synthesis Of A Ptru/Nb0.1ti0.9o2 Electrocatalyst For Methanol Oxidation, Brenda L. García, Roderick Fuentes, John W. Weidner Jan 2007

Low-Temperature Synthesis Of A Ptru/Nb0.1ti0.9o2 Electrocatalyst For Methanol Oxidation, Brenda L. García, Roderick Fuentes, John W. Weidner

Faculty Publications

Niobium was doped into anatase TiO2 support at 10 mol % (Nb0.1Ti0.9O2) using sol-gel chemistry. A PtRu/Nb0.1Ti0.9O2 catalyst was synthesized by LiBH4 reduction in tetrahydrofuran. The methanol electro-oxidation activity of the catalyst shows that this oxide support was electrically conductive. The current (A/gPt) was 6% higher on the PtRu/Nb0.1Ti0.9O2 catalyst compared to a commercial PtRu/C catalyst at 25°C. The electrochemically active surface area of the PtRu/C was 94% higher than PtRu/Nb0.1Ti0.9O2, thus the current per active site was 100% higher on PtRu/Nb0.1Ti0.9O2. A membrane electrode assembly with PtRu/Nb0.1Ti0.9O2 had 46% higher current (A/gPt) than an equivalent E-TEK membrane electrode assembly …


Effect Of Diphenyl Siloxane On The Catalytic Activity Of Pt On Carbon, Vijay A. Sethuraman, John W. Weidner, Lesia V V. Protsailo Jan 2007

Effect Of Diphenyl Siloxane On The Catalytic Activity Of Pt On Carbon, Vijay A. Sethuraman, John W. Weidner, Lesia V V. Protsailo

Faculty Publications

The effect of silicone on the catalytic activity of Pt for oxygen reduction and hydrogen adsorption was studied using diphenyl siloxane as a source compound at a rotating disk electrode (RDE). Diphenyl siloxane did not affect the catalytic activity of Pt when it was injected into the electrolyte. However, it blocked the oxygen reduction reaction when it was premixed with the catalyst. Proton transport was not blocked in either case. We postulate that diphenyl siloxane induces hydrophobicity and causes local water starvation, thereby blocking oxygen transport. Hence, the slow leaching of silicone seals in a fuel cell could cause silicon …


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 Jan 2007

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

Faculty Publications

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 …


Development Of Ruthenium-Based Catalysts For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Lingyun Liu, Hansung Kim, Jong-Won Lee, Branko N. Popov Jan 2007

Development Of Ruthenium-Based Catalysts For Oxygen Reduction Reaction, Lingyun Liu, Hansung Kim, Jong-Won Lee, Branko N. Popov

Faculty Publications

A process was developed to synthesize ruthenium-based chelate (RuNx) electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction, using RuCl3 and propylene diammine as the Ru and N precursors, respectively. High-temperature pyrolysis has a critical role in the formation of the catalytic Ru–N sites for oxygen reduction. The RuNx catalyst modified in the presence of nitrogen-containing organic exhibited comparable catalytic activity and selectivity for oxygen reduction to the carbon-supported Pt catalyst in acidic media. The catalyst generates less than 2% hydrogen peroxide during oxygen reduction.


Novel Pemfc Cathodes Prepared By Pulse Deposition, Subasri M. Ayyadurai, Yoon-Seok Choi, Prabhu Ganesan, Swaminatha P. Kumaraguru, Branko N. Popov Jan 2007

Novel Pemfc Cathodes Prepared By Pulse Deposition, Subasri M. Ayyadurai, Yoon-Seok Choi, Prabhu Ganesan, Swaminatha P. Kumaraguru, Branko N. Popov

Faculty Publications

A pulse electrodeposition method of preparing thin platinum catalyst layers for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) cathodes has been developed through surface activation of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) by a wetting agent. The performance of the catalyst layer was optimized by wetting agent type, immersion time in the wetting agent, and pulse deposition parameters such as total charge density, peak current density, and duty cycle ratio. The Toff time played a more important role than the Ton time in determining the electrode characteristics such as high concentration of Pt, smaller particle size, and loading. Pt cathodes …


Development Of Method For Synthesis Of Pt–Co Cathode Catalysts For Pem Fuel Cells, Xuguang Li, Héctor R. Colón-Mercado, Gang Wu, Jong-Won Lee, Branko N. Popov Jan 2007

Development Of Method For Synthesis Of Pt–Co Cathode Catalysts For Pem Fuel Cells, Xuguang Li, Héctor R. Colón-Mercado, Gang Wu, Jong-Won Lee, Branko N. Popov

Faculty Publications

A procedure was developed to synthesize a platinum–cobalt (Pt–Co) alloy electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction using Co/C composite as a support. The Pt–Co/C catalysts were synthesized through: (i) chemical oxidation of carbon black, (ii) Co deposition on the oxidized carbon using a chelation method, (iii) chemical treatment in an acidic medium to remove excess of Co on the carbon surface, (iv) Pt deposition onto the Co/C support, and (v) postheat treatment to form the Pt–Co alloy catalyst. The synthesized Pt–Co/C catalyst showed improved activity and long-term stability in polymer electrolyte membrane …


Exafs Characterization Of Dendrimer-Derived Pt/Γ-Al2o3, A. Siani, O. S. Alexeev, C. T. Williams, Harry J. Ploehn, M. D. Amiridis Jan 2007

Exafs Characterization Of Dendrimer-Derived Pt/Γ-Al2o3, A. Siani, O. S. Alexeev, C. T. Williams, Harry J. Ploehn, M. D. Amiridis

Faculty Publications

The various steps involved in the preparation of a Pt/-Al2O3 material using hydroxyl-terminated generation four (G4OH) PAMAM dendrimers as templates were monitored by EXAFS. The results indicate that Cl ligands in the Pt precursors (H2PtCl6 and K2PtCl4) were partially replaced by aquo ligands upon hydrolysis to form [PtCl3(H2O)3]+ and [PtCl2(H2O)2] species. After interaction of such species with G4OH, Cl ligands from the first coordination shell of Pt were further replaced by nitrogen atoms from the dendrimer interior, …