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Abstract: Dry reforming of methane (DRM) is a promising way to convert methane and carbon dioxide into H2 and CO (syngas). CeO2 nanorods, nanocubes, and nanospheres were decorated with 1−4 wt % Ni. The materials were structurally characterized using TEM and in situ XANES/EXAFS. The CO2 activation was analyzed by DFT and temperature-programmed techniques combined with MS-DRIFTS. Synthesized CeO2 morphologies expose {111} and {100} terminating facets, varying the strength of the CO2 interaction and redox properties, which influence the CO2 activation. Temperature-programmed CO2 DRIFTS analysis revealed that under hydrogen-lean conditions mono- and bidentate carbonates are hydrogenated to formate intermediates, which decompose to H2O and CO. In excess hydrogen, methane is the preferred reaction product. The CeO2 cubes favor the formation of a polydentate carbonate species, which is an inert spectator during DRM at 500 °C. Polydentate covers a considerable fraction of ceria’s surface, resulting in less-abundant surface sites for CO2 dissociation
Keywords: surface carbonates, in situ characterization, Ni XANES, Ni EXAFS, spectator species, CeO2 nanoshapes, CO2 activation
Published in RUNG: 13.07.2022; Views: 892; Downloads: 0
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Abstract: We performed in‐situ XAS study of N 2 O decomposition over CuO/CeO 2 catalysts. The Cu K‐edge and Ce L 3 ‐edge XANES and EXAFS analyses revealed the dynamic and crucial role of Cu 2+ /Cu + and Ce 4+ /Ce 3+ ionic pairs during the catalytic reaction. We observed the initial formation of reduced Cu + and Ce 3+ species during activation in helium atmosphere at 400 °C, while concentration of these species decreased significantly during steady‐state nitrous oxide degradation reaction (2500 ppm N 2 O in He at 400 °C). In‐situ EXAFS analysis further revealed a crucial role of copper‐ceria interface in this catalytic reaction. We observed dynamic changes in average number of Cu‐Ce scatters under reaction conditions, indicating an enlarging the interface between both copper and ceria phases, where electron and oxygen transfer occurs.
Keywords: in-situ XAS, Cu EXAFS, CuO/CeO2 nanorod catalys, N2O decomposition
Published in RUNG: 29.01.2021; Views: 1778; Downloads: 0
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Abstract: The high intake of plastic materials for food packaging causes environmental problems due to the nonbiodegradable properties of these materials. High, low and very low-density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene and polypropylene are the main materials used. Biodegradable polymers from natural sources are potential raw materials to develop novel food packaging. Bacterial cellulose is a material with extraordinary properties that is gaining special interest for applications in the Food Industry. The excellent mechanical properties, thermal stability and barrier to water vapor, oxygen and UV radiation of bacterial cellulose compared to other polysaccharides make this material very attractive and a potential alternative to non-biodegradable synthetic materials. Nevertheless, bacterial cellulose films are limited due to their lower elasticity. Therefore, the aim of this review is to provide an overview of the ex-situ and in-situ modifications of bacterial cellulose to improve its properties for the development of films for food packaging.
Keywords: Bacterial cellulose, In-situ modifications, Ex-situ modifications, Food packaging.
Published in RUNG: 09.12.2020; Views: 1944; Downloads: 0
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Abstract: In the summer of 2014 in situ and remote sensing instruments were deployed in Athens, in order to study the concentration, physical properties, and chemical composition of aerosols. In this manuscript we aim to combine the measurements of collocated in situ and remote sensing instruments by comparison and complementary use, in order to increase the accuracy of predictions concerning climate change and human health. We also develop a new method in order to select days when a direct comparison on in situ and remote sensing instruments is possible. On selected days that displayed significant turbulence up to approximately 1000 m above ground level (agl), we acquired the aerosol extinction or scattering coefficient by in situ instruments using three approaches. In the first approach the aerosol extinction coefficient was acquired by adding a Nephelometer scattering coefficient in ambient conditions and an Aethalometer absorption coefficient. The correlation between the in situ and remote sensing instruments was good (coefficient of determination equal to 0.69). In the second approach we acquired the aerosol refractive index by fitting dry Nephelometer and Aethalometer measurements with Mie algorithm calculations of the scattering and absorption coefficients for the size distribution up to a maximum diameter of 1000 nm obtained by in situ instruments. The correlation in this case was relatively good ( equal to 0.56). Our next step was to compare the extinction coefficient acquired by remote sensing instruments to the scattering coefficient calculated by Mie algorithm using the size distribution up to a maximum diameter of 1000 nm and the equivalent refractive index (), which is acquired by the comparison of the size distributions obtained by a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) and an Optical Particle Counter (OPC). The agreement between the in situ and remote sensing instruments in this case was not satisfactory ( equal to 0.35). The last comparison for the selected days was between the aerosol extinction Ångström exponent acquired by in situ and remote sensing instruments. The correlation was not satisfactory ( equal to 0.4), probably due to differences in the number size distributions present in the air volumes measured by in situ and remote sensing instruments. We also present a day that a Saharan dust event occurred in Athens in order to demonstrate the information we obtain through the synergy of in situ and remote sensing instruments on how regional aerosol is added to local aerosol, especially during pollution events due to long range transport.
Keywords: Aerosol mixing in the vertical, In situ — Remote sensing comparison, Regional aerosol addition to local aerosol
Published in RUNG: 09.04.2020; Views: 2460; Downloads: 0
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Abstract: Aerosol vertical profiles are valuable inputs for the evaluation of aerosol transport models, in order to improve the understanding of aerosol pollution ventilation processes which drive the dispersion of pollutants in mountainous regions. With the aim of providing high-accuracy vertical distributions of particle mass concentration for the study of aerosol dispersion in small-scale valleys, vertical profiles of aerosol mass concentration for aerosols from different sources (including Saharan dust and local biomass burning events) were investigated over the Vipava valley, Slovenia, a representative hot-spot for complex mixtures of different aerosol types of both anthropogenic and natural origin. The analysis was based on datasets taken between 1–30 April 2016. In-situ measurements of aerosol size, absorption, and mass concentration were combined with lidar remote sensing, where vertical profiles of aerosol concentration were retrieved. Aerosol samples were characterized by SEM-EDX, to obtain aerosol morphology and chemical composition. Two cases with expected dominant presence of different specific aerosol types (mineral dust and biomass-burning aerosols) show significantly different aerosol properties and distributions within the valley. In the mineral dust case, we observed a decrease of the elevated aerosol layer height and subsequent spreading of mineral dust within the valley, while in the biomass-burning case we observed the lifting of aerosols above the planetary boundary layer (PBL). All uncertainties of size and assumed optical properties, combined, amount to the total uncertainty of aerosol mass concentrations below 30% within the valley. We have also identified the most indicative in-situ parameters for identification of aerosol type.
Keywords: valley air pollution, aerosol vertical distributions, lidar remote sensing, in-situ measurements, aerosol identification
Published in RUNG: 09.01.2019; Views: 3662; Downloads: 109
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