Nanoparticle deposition in porous and on planar substrates
AssigneeTrustees of Boston University
InventorsUday B. PAL, Soumendra BASU, Paul GASPER, Yanchen LU, Srikanth GOPALAN
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Abstract
A method of preparing a metal nanoparticle on a surface includes subjecting a metal source to a temperature and a pressure in a carrier gas selected to provide a vapor metal species at a vapor pressure in the range of about 10−4 to about 10−11 atm; contacting the vapor metal species with a heated substrate; and depositing the metal as a nanoparticle on the substrate.
Claims30
A method of preparing a metal nanoparticle in or on a surface comprising:
- subjecting a metal source to a temperature and a pressure in a carrier gas selected to provide a vapor metal species at a vapor pressure in the range of about 10−4 to about 10−11 atm;
- contacting the vapor metal species with a heated substrate;
- and
- depositing the metal as a nanoparticle on the substrate.
A method of depositing metal nanoparticles in a porous electrode of a solid oxide fuel cell, comprising:
- heating a metal source to a first temperature selected to vaporize the metal source;
- flowing a carrier gas over the heated metal source, wherein the carrier gas interacts with the vaporized metal and forms a metallic species gas phase having a vapor pressure in the range of about 10−4 to about 10−11 atm;
- directing the metallic species gas towards a surface of a solid oxide fuel cell, wherein the surface comprises a porous electrode of the solid oxide fuel cell, and wherein the solid oxide fuel cell is independently heated to a second temperature that is less than the first temperature;
- and
- decomposing the metallic species to deposit nanoparticles of the source metal.
A method of depositing metal nanoparticles in a porous electrode of a solid oxide fuel cell, comprising:
- heating a metal source to a first temperature selected to vaporize the metal source;
- flowing a carrier gas over the heated metal source, wherein the carrier gas interacts with the vaporized metal and forms a metallic species gas phase having a vapor pressure in the range of about 10−4 to about 10−11 atm, wherein the metallic species comprises oxygen;
- directing the metallic species gas towards a surface of a solid oxide fuel cell, wherein the surface comprises a porous electrode of the solid oxide fuel cell, and wherein the solid oxide fuel cell is independently heated to a second temperature that is selected to maintain the metallic species in the gas phase;
- and
- applying an electric bias to the electrode to extract oxygen from the metallic species and to deposit the metal as nanoparticles.
A solid oxide fuel cell, comprising:
- a porous metal oxide cathode;
- a metal oxide electrolyte;
- and
- a porous nickel/electronic metal oxide anode, the anode comprising nickel-nanoparticles deposited at least at the triple phase boundary of the anode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.