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Application of CoFe2O4-NiO nanoparticle-coated foam-structured material in a high-flux solar thermochemical reactor

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Abstract

The splitting of carbon dioxide through the two-step solar thermochemical cycle presents enormous potential, for it holds the dual functionalities of solar fuel production and carbon-based energy recovery. However, the industrialization of this technology is impeded by two critical factors: The absence of fully developed oxygen carriers and advanced reaction devices that deliver exceptional performance. In order to identify a potentially effective oxygen carrier, 50 wt% NiO-modified CoFe2O4 is selected as the active component and characterized by means of thermogravimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy, so as to clarify its oxygen exchange capacity, micromorphology and elemental composition in high-temperature thermochemical cycles. Further, nanoparticle-coated foam-structured materials are prepared in combination with SiC ceramic foam for experimental testing in a high-flux solar reactor. The results indicate that a peak CO yield of 1.96 mL min−1 g−1 can be gained in a 1500–1250 K preliminary test, demonstrating the application potential of the material. In contrast to conventional redox materials, the CO2 activity of the materials synthesized in this study exhibits an enhancement with rising oxidation temperature. It means that isothermal cycles can potentially achieve higher conversion and fuel yield than non-isothermal cycles, while simultaneously reducing the amount of irreversible heat loss during high-temperature cycling. Although the estimated steady-state thermal efficiency of the solar reactor can reach up to 42%, further optimization of the reactor design is necessary to enhance energy conversion efficiency, as it is partially limited by the dimensions of the reaction chamber.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Electrical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China

    Hao Zhang, XiaoMi Zhang & DaZhi Yang

  2. School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150001, China

    Yong Shuai, Bachirou Guene Lougou & QingHui Pan

  3. School of New Energy, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai, 264209, China

    FuQiang Wang

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  1. Hao Zhang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to DaZhi Yang.

Additional information

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2018YFA0702300), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52106085), and the Heilongjiang Postdoctoral Fund (Grant No. LBH-Z22120).

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Zhang, H., Zhang, X., Yang, D. et al. Application of CoFe2O4-NiO nanoparticle-coated foam-structured material in a high-flux solar thermochemical reactor. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 66, 3276–3286 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-023-2397-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-023-2397-7

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