Internal field 59Co NMR study of cobalt-iron nanoparticles during the activation of CoFe2/CaO catalyst for carbon nanotube synthesis

Formation of Metal-Oxide Nanocomposites with Highly Dispersed Co Particles from a Co-Zr Powder Blend by Mechanical Alloying and Hydrogen Treatment

The use of metal powders produced by mechanical treatment in various fields, such as catalysis or gas absorption, is often limited by the low specific surface area of the resulting particles. One of the possible solutions for increasing the particle fineness is hydrogen treatment; however, its effect on the structure of mechanically treated powders remains unexplored. In this work, for the first time, a metal-oxide nanocomposite powder was produced by mechanical alloying (MA) in a high-energy planetary ball mill from commercial powders of Zr and Co in the atomic ratio Co:Zr = 53:47 in an inert atmosphere, followed by high-pressure hydrogenation at room temperature. The initial powders and products of alloying and hydrogenation were studied by XRD, ⁵⁹Co Internal Field NMR, SEM, and HRTEM microscopy with EDX mapping, as well as Raman spectroscopy. MA resulted in significant amorphization of the powders, as well as extensive oxidation of zirconium by water according to the so-called "Fukushima effect". Moreover, an increase in hcp Co sites was observed. ⁵⁹Co IF NMR spectra revealed the formation of magnetically single-domain cobalt particles after hydrogenation. The crystallite sizes remained unchanged, which was not observed earlier. The pulverization of Co and an increase in hcp Co sites made this nanocomposite suitable for the synthesis of promising Fischer-Tropsch catalysts.

Dielectric Properties of Hybrid Polyethylene Composites Containing Cobalt Nanoparticles and Carbon Nanotubes

Polymer composites with electrically conductive inclusions are intensively developed for microwave shielding applications, where lightweight and elastic coatings are necessary. In this paper, dielectric properties of hybrid polyethylene composites containing cobalt nanoparticles and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) were investigated in the wide frequency range of 20–40 GHz for electromagnetic shielding applications. The percolation threshold in the hybrid system is close to 6.95 wt% MWCNT and 0.56 Co wt%. Cobalt nanoparticles (up to highest investigated concentration 4.8 wt%) had no impact on the percolation threshold, and for the fixed total concentration of fillers, the complex dielectric permittivity is higher for composites with bigger MWCNT concentrations. Moreover, the microwave complex dielectric permittivity of composites with high concentration of fillers is quite high (for composites with 13.4 wt% MWCNT and 1.1 wt% Co ε′ ≈ ε″ ≈ 20 at 30 GHz, it corresponds to microwave absorption 50% of 1 mm thickness plate); therefore, these composites are suitable for electromagnetic shielding applications.

The sum is more than its parts: stability of MnFe oxide nanoparticles supported on oxygen-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes at alternating oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction conditions

Successful design of reversible oxygen electrocatalysts does not only require to consider their activity towards the oxygen reduction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reactions (OER), but also their electrochemical stability at alternating ORR and OER operating conditions, which is important for potential applications in reversible electrolyzers/fuel cells or metal/air batteries. We show that the combination of catalyst materials containing stable ORR active sites with those containing stable OER active sites may result in a stable ORR/OER catalyst if each of the active components can satisfy the current demand of their respective reaction. We compare the ORR/OER performances of oxides of Mn (stable ORR active sites), Fe (stable OER active sites), and bimetallic Mn0.5Fe0.5 (reversible ORR/OER catalyst) supported on oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Despite the instability of Mn and Fe oxide for the OER and the ORR, respectively, Mn0.5Fe0.5 exhibits high stability for both reactions.

Bifunctional Oxygen Reduction/Oxygen Evolution Activity of Mixed Fe/Co Oxide Nanoparticles with Variable Fe/Co Ratios Supported on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

A facile strategy is reported for the synthesis of Fe/Co mixed metal oxide nanoparticles supported on, and embedded inside, high purity oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) of narrow diameter distribution as effective bifunctional catalysts able to reversibly drive the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline solutions. Variation of the Fe/Co ratio resulted in a pronounced trend in the bifunctional ORR/OER activity. Controlled synthesis and in-depth characterization enabled the identification of an optimal Fe/Co composition, which afforded a low OER/OER reversible overvoltage of only 0.831 V, taking the OER at 10 mA cm^-2 and the ORR at -1 mA cm^-2 . Importantly, the optimal catalyst with a Fe/Co ratio of 2:3 exhibited very promising long-term stability with no evident change in the potential for both the ORR and the OER after 400 charge/discharge (OER/ORR) cycles at 15 mA cm^-2 in 6 m KOH. Moreover, detailed investigation of the structure, size, and phase composition of the mixed Fe/Co oxide nanoparticles, as well as their localization (inside of or on the surface of the MWCNTs) revealed insight of the possible contribution of the individual catalyst components and their synergistic interaction in the catalysis.