(174c) The Effects of the Paired Charge Compensating Dopant Identity in Ceria for Solar Thermochemical H2O and CO2 Splitting | AIChE

(174c) The Effects of the Paired Charge Compensating Dopant Identity in Ceria for Solar Thermochemical H2O and CO2 Splitting

Authors 

Muhich, C. L. - Presenter, University of Colorado at Boulder
Das, S., Arizona State University
Solar thermochemical water and carbon dioxide splitting provide a pathway to high efficiency solar fuels. To-date, ceria remains the benchmark material due to its stability and rapid kinetics. Of single element dopants, only Hf- and Zr-doping has shown increased performance over undoped ceria. Recently, group IIIA/VA paired charge compensating dopants (PCCD) have provided a new pathway for altering the redox properties of ceria within an energy range commensurate with thermochemical cycles. Here we expand upon the initial PCCD strategy, expanding into new dopant combinations, using use density functional theory calculations. We show that the PCCD strategy offers a large opportunity for increasing the range of available reduction energies available in ceria and provide a fundamental understanding for the found behavior. Although these materials are investigated in light of solar thermochemistry, their behavior is of potential interest to the metal oxide catalytic community as a whole.