Siti Munira Jamil

Incorporation of N-doped TiO2 nanorods in regenerated cellulose thin films fabricated from recycled newspaper as a green portable photocatalyst

In this work, an environmental friendly RC/N-TiO2 nanocomposite thin film was designed as a green portable photocatalyst by utilizing recycled newspaper as sustainable cellulose resource. Investigations on the influence of N-doped TiO2 nanorods incorporation on the structural and morphological properties of RC/N-TiO2 nanocomposite thin film are presented. The resulting nanocomposite thin film was characterized by FESEM, AFM, FTIR, UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, and XPS analysis. The results suggested that there was a remarkable compatibility between cellulose and N-doped TiO2 nanorods anchored onto the surface of the RC/N-TiO2 nanocomposite thin film. Under UV and visible irradiation, the RC/N-TiO2 nanocomposite thin film showed remarkable photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue solution with degradation percentage of 96% and 78.8%, respectively. It is crucial to note that the resulting portable photocatalyst produced via an environmental and green technique in its fabrication process has good potential in the field of water and wastewater treatment application.

Role of lithium oxide as a sintering aid for a CGO electrolyte fabricated via a phase inversion technique

The incorporation of lithium oxide (Li2O) as a sintering additive has specific advantages for electrolyte membrane fabrication. However, the viability of the sintering additive to be implemented in a phase inversion technique is still ambiguous. In this first attempt, lithium was doped into a gadolinium-doped ceria (CGO) crystal structure using the metal nitrate doping method and calcined at four different temperatures, i.e. 140, 300, 500 and 700 °C. The prepared Li-doped CGO (Li–CGO) powders were analyzed by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption/desorption, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR). Primary results demonstrate that the calcination temperature of the Li–CGO influences the condition of the electrolyte suspension. Li–CGO calcined at 700 °C (D-700), as compared with other Li–CGO, possessed a strong interaction between the Li and CGO. The D-700 was then incorporated into the electrolyte flat sheet membrane which was prepared by a phase inversion technique. The membrane was then sintered at different sintering temperatures from 1350 °C to 1450 °C. In comparison with the unmodified CGO, the morphological results suggest that the Li2O can remarkably promote the densification of CGO at a lower sintering temperature (1400 °C). These findings help to promote the use of sintering additives in a ceria-based electrolyte suspension specifically for the phase inversion technique.

Recent Progress on the Utilization of Nanomaterials in Microtubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

This chapter describes the method of producing hollow fiber for a microtubular solid oxide fuel cell (MT-SOFC) using nanomaterial-based structures. This chapter focuses on the utilization of yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and cerium-gadolinium oxide (CGO) nanomaterials for high and intermediate working temperatures of MT-SOFC, respectively. The chapter then discusses the nanomaterial available and a number of attempts to produce the nanomaterial for the electrolyte. Then, the advantages of using nanomaterial are also discussed. Finally, this chapter concludes the future of nanomaterial for MT-SOFC and its future challenges.