Sol-Gel Derived NiFe2O4 Modified with ZrO2 for Hydrogen Generation from Solar Thermochemical Water-Splitting Reaction

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis investigation reports the synthesis of Ni-ferrite and ZrO2 added Ni-ferrite powdered materials for H2 generation from thermochemical water-splitting reaction. NiFe2O4 was synthesized using sol-gel technique in which salts of Ni and Fe were sonicated in ethanol until a visually clear solution was obtained. To this solution, propylene oxide was added to achieve the gel formation. As-prepared gel was dried at 100oC for 1 h and calcined upto 600oC at a ramp rate of 40oC/min. The calcined sample from the furnace was removed at 600oC and cooled down at room temperature in air. To synthesize NiFe2O4/ZrO2 powdered mixture, ZrO2 nanoparticles were mixed with the calcined ferrite powder using vortex mixer. These powdered materials were analyzed using powder x-ray diffractometer (XRD), BET surface area analyzer and scanning (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). As-prepared NiFe2O4 and ZrO2 added NiFe2O4 powdered materials were loaded in an Inconel tubular reactor to investigate H2 generation from four consecutive thermochemical cycles where water-splitting and regeneration was performed at 900o and 1100oC, respectively.