Formic acid is an advantageous liquid organic hydrogen carrier. It is relatively nontoxic and can be synthesized by the reaction of CO2 with sustainable hydrogen or by biomass decomposition. As an alternative to more widely studied powdery catalysts, supported Pd-C catalytic thin films with controlled nanostructure and compositions were newly prepared in this work by…
The importance of the dry reforming of methane (DRM) lies in its capability to upgrade two greenhouse gases (CH4 and CO2) into synthesis gas (CO and H-2), which is one of the main building block for synthesizing hydrocarbons. However, the Ni-based catalysts for DRM reaction usually have a major catalytic stability drawback. This works aims…
A series of mesoporous carbonaceous materials were synthesized by the nanocasting technique using boehmite as a template and glucose as a carbon precursor. After pyrolysis and template removal, the resulting material is a mesoporous carbon that can be additionally doped with N, B and K during prepyrolysis impregnation. In addition, the influence of doping on…
The microstructure, mechanical properties and thermal stability of AT(x)Ti(1-x)N and Al1Ti1-xBN coatings grown by reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) have been analyzed as a function of Al/(Al + Ti) ratio (x) between 0.5 and 0.8. The coatings were predominantly formed by a face-centered cubic Ti(Al)N crystalline phase, both with and without B, even for…
In this study, platinized mixed oxides (TiO2–Nb2O5) were tested on photocatalytic hydrogen production from a glycerol solution under UV light. Different samples with different Ti:Nb ratios were prepared by using a simple method that simultaneously combined a physical mixture and a platinum photochemical reduction. This method led to improved physicochemical properties such as low band gap, better Pt nanoparticle distribution on the surface, and…
Nanostructured Nb-C thin films were prepared by direct current magnetron sputtering (DC-MS) and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). The films were characterized in depth by X-ray diffraction (XRD), grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, electron probe microanalysis, and Raman spectroscopy. The mechanical properties were measured by nanoindentation, and the tribological properties…
Persistent phosphors are luminescent sources based on crystalline materials doped with rare-earth or transition metal cations able to produce light after the excitation source vanishes. Although known for centuries, these materials gained renewed interest after the discovery of Eu2+,RE3+ co-doped aluminates and silicates in the late 1990s due to their unprecedented afterglow properties. In contrast,…
In the present work, we explore the use of steam in the CaCO3 calcination step of the Calcium Looping process devised for thermochemical energy storage (CaL-TCES). Steam produces a double benefit: firstly, it fastens calcination, allowing a reduction of the temperature needed to attain full calcination in short residence times, as those required in practice,…
The influence of the mechanical activation process and sintering atmosphere on the microstructure and mechanical properties of bulk Ti2AlN has been investigated. The mixture of Ti and AlN powders was prepared in a 1:2 molar ratio, and a part of this powder mixture was subjected to a mechanical activation process under an argon atmosphere for…
The main objective of this investigation is to study the effect of the substitution of metakaolin (MK) (from calcined industrial kaolin) by four different calcined natural Southern Spain clays traditionally used in the brick and tile sector, as well as by the biomass bottom ash residue (BBA) from the combustion of a mix of olive…