(175c) Solar Thermochemical Splitting of H2o/CO2 Using Sol-Gel Derived Ferrite Materials

The drastic increase in the CO₂ emission is due to the rapid industrialization and extreme consumption of fossil fuels. Conversion of captured CO₂ into value added chemicals such as synthetic fuels via solar driven metal oxide based thermochemical H₂O/CO₂ splitting cycle is attractive and currently under investigation throughout the world. The syngas produced via the above-mentioned process can be directly converted into transportation fuels via catalytic Fischer-Tropsch (FT) technology. Hence, the solar driven thermochemical H₂O/CO₂ splitting process provides a sustainable alternative energy resource with the reduction in the dependency on petroleum products.

Among the various metal oxides investigated in past, Ni-ferrite and Co-ferrite are considered to be the best materials in the ferrite class for the production of H₂ and CO via thermochemical H₂O/CO₂ splitting cycle. It was reported by various researchers (including us) that these ferrites are capable of producing higher levels of H₂/CO in multiple thermochemical cycles as compared to other ferrite materials.

To investigate further, in this study we have synthesized Ni-Co-ferrite (combining Ni-ferrite and Co-ferrite) by using propylene oxide assisted sol-gel method. We believe that this combination will provide a chance to utilize the advantages of both Ni-ferrite and Co-ferrite towards splitting of H₂O/CO₂ in multiple cycles.