eCommons

 

Towards hierarchical porous titanium nitride as catalyst support for fuel cells

Other Titles

Abstract

To promote widespread adoption of hydrogen fuel cells, it is essential to enhance their durability. The current catalyst support, carbon black, is not stable during fuel cell operation, resulting in performance decline. This study focuses on exploring titanium nitride (TiN) as an alternative catalyst support material. TiN exhibits high conductivity and electrochemical stability. However, there are still several challenges to synthesize TiN that fulfills all requirements before it becomes the support of choice for fuel cell applications. In this study, a synthesis method using silica as a hard template mixed with titanium isopropoxide (TTIP) was employed to create porous TiO2 materials. These materials were then converted into hierarchical porous bulk TiN using the ammonolysis method. Various synthesis parameters, such as the precursor-to-template ratio, calcination temperature, nitridation temperature, and dwell time, were investigated to optimize the structure and composition of the samples. The optimized samples exhibited higher surface area and improved conductivity compared to commercially available TiN and carbon black. Furthermore, this study explores the use of the hypergolic reaction as a time-saving and energy-efficient method for synthesis of TiN. The results showed that the hypergolic reaction yielded samples with comparable or improved pore structure and electrical performance to those synthesized by conventional means, demonstrating its potential as a promising approach for material synthesis.

Journal / Series

Volume & Issue

Description

76 pages

Sponsorship

Date Issued

2023-08

Publisher

Keywords

Location

Effective Date

Expiration Date

Sector

Employer

Union

Union Local

NAICS

Number of Workers

Committee Chair

Giannelis, Emmanuel

Committee Co-Chair

Committee Member

Wiesner, Ulrich

Degree Discipline

Materials Science and Engineering

Degree Name

M.S., Materials Science and Engineering

Degree Level

Master of Science

Related Version

Related DOI

Related To

Related Part

Based on Related Item

Has Other Format(s)

Part of Related Item

Related To

Related Publication(s)

Link(s) to Related Publication(s)

References

Link(s) to Reference(s)

Previously Published As

Government Document

ISBN

ISMN

ISSN

Other Identifiers

Rights

Rights URI

Types

dissertation or thesis

Accessibility Feature

Accessibility Hazard

Accessibility Summary

Link(s) to Catalog Record