FURI | Spring 2023

Effect of CeO2 Pellet Morphology in E-Field Enhanced CO2 Splitting

Thermochemical CO­­₂ splitting is a process that can utilize the formation of oxygen vacancies in CeO₂ (ceria) at high temperatures (~1,500 ⁰C) to produce CO­. To reduce the operating temperature range, an electronic double layer is used and requires an ionic medium (molten salts) to amplify a low voltage. The ceria in this experiment are pellets that vary in porosity based on the ratio of ceria to carbon mixed in during pellet synthesis. Due to the reoxidation step requiring the surface area of ceria to be available, changing the porosity will determine how much CO₂ is converted to CO.