Yuzhou Wu

Progress in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Nickel-Based Anodes Operating on Methane and Related Fuels

Operating on Methane and Related Fuels Wei Wang,† Chao Su,‡ Yuzhou Wu, Ran Ran,† and Zongping Shao*,† †State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Technology, No. 5 Xin Mofan Road, Nanjing 210009, People’s Republic of China ‡Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6845, Australia Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia

Solar evaporation enhancement using floating light-absorbing magnetic particles

We have demonstrated a new strategy for enhancing solar evaporation by using floating light-absorbing materials. Floating Fe3O4/C magnetic particles with an average size of 500 nm were synthesized by carbonization of poly(furfuryl alcohol) (PFA) incorporated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The Fe3O4/C particles had a BET surface area of 429 m2 g−1, and a density of 1.44 g cm−3. Because of their hydrophobicity and a bulk packing density of 0.53 g cm−3, Fe3O4/C particles were floatable on water. Our results indicated that these Fe3O4/C particles enhanced the water evaporation rate by as much as a factor of 2.3 in the solar evaporation of 3.5% salt water. In addition, Fe3O4/C particles were easily recycled using a magnet, and stable after being recycled three times. Our work provides a low-cost and highly effective way for accelerating solar evaporation for industrial applications such as solar desalination, salt production, brine management and wastewater treatment.

Eggshell membrane-templated synthesis of highly crystalline perovskite ceramics for solid oxide fuel cells

Highly crystalline perovskite ceramics were templated by an eggshell membrane (ESM) via strong metal-protein bonding. Templated Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3 (SSC) ceramics retained an interwoven fibrous structure at a temperature up to 1000 °C. The use of citric acid-assisted sol–gel coating in the template synthesis greatly enhanced the crystallininty of the ceramic because the sol–gel process ensured the stoichiometric adsorption of ceramic precursors, and it also affected ceramic morphology. The highly crystalline SSC ceramic was used as a cathode material of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), and the cathode properties were compared with those prepared with the ceramic synthesized via a conventional combustion method. The maximum power density of the cell made with the templated SSC was 44.5% and 29.8% higher than that made with the combusted SSC at 600 °C and 500 °C, respectively, because the highly porous cathode constructed with the templated SSC reduced the cell concentration polarization and cathode polarization resistance. This study suggests high-performance perovskite ceramic for SOFC was produced via the template synthesis.

Solid oxide fuel cells with both high voltage and power output by utilizing beneficial interfacial reaction

An intriguing cell concept by applying proton-conducting oxide as the ionic conducting phase in the anode and taking advantage of beneficial interfacial reaction between anode and electrolyte is proposed to successfully achieve both high open circuit voltage (OCV) and power output for SOFCs with thin-film samarium doped ceria (SDC) electrolyte at temperatures higher than 600 °C. The fuel cells were fabricated by conventional route without introducing an additional processing step. A very thin and dense interfacial layer (2-3 μm) with compositional gradient was created by in situ reaction between anode and electrolyte although the anode substrate had high surface roughness (>5 μm), which is, however, beneficial for increasing triple phase boundaries where electrode reactions happen. A fuel cell with Ni-BaZr(0.4)Ce(0.4)Y(0.2)O(3) anode, thin-film SDC electrolyte and Ba(0.5)Sr(0.5)Co(0.8)Fe(0.2)O(3-δ) (BSCF) cathode has an OCV as high as 1.022 V and delivered a power density of 462 mW cm(-2) at 0.7 V at 600 °C. It greatly promises an intriguing fuel cell concept for efficient power generation.

Stifling magnesium corrosion via a novel anodic coating

The use of light-weight magnesium (Mg) alloys as engineering materials has been hampered in part due to their poor corrosion performance. This work aims to address the corrosion issue of Mg by introducing a functional protective coating system consisting of an intermediate active metallic film (anodic with respect to Mg) and an outer passive coating to slow the rate of dissolution of the intermediate active metallic film; which is akin to the protective surface coating system utilised for galvanised steel. If the outer passive coating is damaged or loses its integrity, the active (i.e. anodic) coating is expected to electrochemically sacrifice itself to impose protection upon the underlying Mg substrate. This work represents a novel corrosion protection system for Mg, and is demonstrated herein for a lanthanum based coating system upon commercial Mg-alloy AZ91D.