A study on the synchronous decoration of molybdenum oxide or tungsten oxide nanoparticles on anode materials for natural gas fed solid oxide fuel cells using ultrasounds

Petros M Sakkas; Christos-Yiannis Bozes; Dimitra G Kanellopoulou; Georgia Sourkouni; Christos Argirusis

doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.104715

A study on the synchronous decoration of molybdenum oxide or tungsten oxide nanoparticles on anode materials for natural gas fed solid oxide fuel cells using ultrasounds

Ultrason Sonochem. 2019 Dec:59:104715. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.104715. Epub 2019 Aug 1.

Authors

Petros M Sakkas¹, Christos-Yiannis Bozes¹, Dimitra G Kanellopoulou², Georgia Sourkouni³, Christos Argirusis⁴

Affiliations

¹ National Technical University of Athens, School of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Inorganic Materials Technology, I. Polytechniou 9, 15773 Zografou/Athens, Greece.
² National Technical University of Athens, School of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Inorganic Materials Technology, I. Polytechniou 9, 15773 Zografou/Athens, Greece; University of Patras, Department of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Materials and Metallurgy, Caratheodory 1, 26504, University Campus, GR 26504 Patras, Greece.
³ Technische Universität Clausthal, Clausthal Research Centre for Materials Technology (CZM), Leibnizstr. 9, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany.
⁴ National Technical University of Athens, School of Chemical Engineering, Laboratory of Inorganic Materials Technology, I. Polytechniou 9, 15773 Zografou/Athens, Greece; Technische Universität Clausthal, Clausthal Research Centre for Materials Technology (CZM), Leibnizstr. 9, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany. Electronic address: amca@chemeng.ntua.gr.

PMID: 31421617
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.104715

Abstract

Sonochemistry was used for the metal oxides nanoparticle synthesis. All experiments were run using a BANDELIN Sonopuls HD 3200 ultrasonic generator (20 kHz, 200 W net output) with a ultrasonic probe in thermostated environment of 80 °C under ambient air. At the same time, ultrasonication activity achieved their decoration on state-of-the-art fuel cell anode powders. These modified powders shall be used in solid oxide and ceramic proton exchange membrane fuel cells anode sites. Metal oxide nanoformations synthesized were those of tungsten and molybdenum. In case of sonochemical synthesis, organometallic compounds dissolved in organic solvents played the role of precursors. Experiments of metal oxides synthesis revealed that ultrasonication intensity and solvents are able to affect final nanoparticles size distribution and morphology. At the same time, ratio of precursor and substrate compounds amounts as well as ultrasonication intensity and duration were all found to affect the decoration loading extent of nanoformations on substrates. Transmission electron microscopy was mainly used for identifying the final product of each synthesis attempt. Moreover, selected area diffraction of characteristic formations examined, gave important information about the nanocrystallinity and stoichiometry of all materials synthesized.

Keywords: Nanomaterials; Refractory metal oxides; Sofc anodes; Sonochemistry; Synchronous decoration.