(235h) Utilization of CO2 Towards Solar Fuel Production Via Ferrite Based Redox Reactions

Solar driven thermochemical splitting of H₂O and CO₂ using metal oxide based redox reactions is considered a promising technology for the production of syngas, bypassing the utilization of fossil fuels. As only (atmospheric) CO₂ and H₂O are consumed, the syngas produced can be considered as a renewable product. Among the various metal oxides investigated in past, ferrites (doped iron oxides) are considered as potential materials due to their excellent redox reactivity and the high fuel production capacity. However, the ferrites are mainly utilized for the H₂O splitting and the studies associated with the CO₂ splitting cycle are very few. In this study, Co-based ferrite materials are synthesized using sol-gel method and tested towards thermochemical CO₂ splitting reaction. The derived ferrites are first characterized towards phase composition, crystallite size, specific surface area, porosity, morphology, and elemental chemical composition by using PXRD, SEM, TEM, and EDS. After characterization, the ferrite materials are further tested towards thermochemical CO₂ splitting cycle using a high temperature thermogravimetric analyzer coupled with online GC-MS system. Multiple thermochemical cycles are performed by varying the thermal reduction and CO₂ splitting temperatures and dwell time. Based on this study, the best candidates are identified considering the redox reactivity and thermal stability in multiple cycles. The experimental findings will be presented in detail.