| Iron-Cobalt Spinel Oxides For Thermochemical Hydrogen Production | ||
| Jonathan R. Scheffe, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, 1111 Engineering Dr., ECCH 111, Boulder, CO 80309-0424, Hans Funke, Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Colorado, 1111 Engineering Drive, Campus Box 424, Boulder, CO 80309-0424 and Alan W. Weimer, University of Colorado, 1111 Engineering Drive, Boulder, CO 80309-0424 Spinel ferrites, mixed metal oxides formed by substitution of iron in Fe3O4 by other metals, are capable of splitting water at relatively low temperatures. We have investigated the role of specific surface area of CoxFe3-xO4, where x ranges from 0.25 to 1.0, on the amount of oxygen evolved per mole of ferrite, and its subsequent reactivity with steam to generate hydrogen gas. Our results indicate that, by reducing particle size and thus increasing specific surface area, the amount of hydrogen generated per mole of ferrite can be significantly increased. XPS and EDS were utilized as a means to analyze the reduced samples, and confirm that oxygen atoms are evolved primarily from the surface, rather than the bulk lattice. Extended Abstract Status: Not Uploaded | ||