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Papers by Brian North

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Jan 13, 2014

Energy Procedia, Dec 31, 2012

Research on Chemical Intermediates, 2015

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2015

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2015

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2015

Zr-MOF nanocrystals Cr-MOF nanocrystals Electrospun nanofibers Hydrogen storage a b s t r a c t

A hierarchically structured zeolite derived from coal fly ash was used as a hard templating agent... more A hierarchically structured zeolite derived from coal fly ash was used as a hard templating agent for the synthesis of a templated carbonaceous material. The samples were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA, EDS and BET. The resulting carbon had the same morphological features as the parent zeolite and was composed of more than 96% carbon which confirmed that the zeolite template was successfully removed. It is important to emphasize that the hierarchically structured zeolite was produced without the need for the use of structure directing template as well as from a waste material. Therefore the process of synthesizing hierachical carbon replicas starting from fly-ash derived zeolites presents a cost-effective alternative for producing carbonaceous material that are currently known to possess superior hydrogen storage properties. : SEM image of a hierachically structured fly ash-derived zeolite X.

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2015

Keywords: Metal-organic framework Application-specific configuration Hydrogen storage Drop test T... more Keywords: Metal-organic framework Application-specific configuration Hydrogen storage Drop test Tumbler drum test a b s t r a c t Shaping of Zr-MOF powder material into spherical pellets with diameters of 0.5e15 mm in the presence of 10 wt.% sucrose as a binder was successfully demonstrated using a granulator. Zr-MOF pellets were produced in a kilogram batch within 30 min operation time. This granulation approach is a more efficient way to shape MOF-type powder materials into application-specific configurations compared to the mechanical pressing method. The pellets could be conveniently packed in a small hydrogen storage tank. The physical degradation characteristics of the Zr-MOF pellets were studied by drop test and simulated tumbler drum test. The results showed zero breakage of the pellets after 70 consecutive drops at a height of 0.5 m and 5% breakage after 60 min of tumbling time at a speed of 25 rpm. Although the compromised value of the surface area led to a decreased hydrogen storage capacity, this shaping approach still holds promise given an appropriate choice of binder. ScienceDirect j o urn al h om epa ge: www.elsev ier.com/locate/he i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y x x x ( 2 0 1 5 ) 1 e6

Journal of Technology Innovations in Renewable Energy, 2014

2014 IEEE 36th International Telecommunications Energy Conference (INTELEC), 2014

International Journal of Energy Research, 2014

ABSTRACT Clay and its recrystallized zeolitic derivatives were used in this study as templating a... more ABSTRACT Clay and its recrystallized zeolitic derivatives were used in this study as templating agents for carbon nanostructured materials. The conventional nanocasting process that involves impregnation with furfural alcohol and subsequent chemical vapour deposition was followed. Several techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and surface area analysis were used to characterize the parent templating materials including the resulting nanocasted carbons. The study demonstrated that there is greater potential for the use of value-added clays rather than their pristine form and hence presents a cost-effective alternative for producing carbonaceous materials with more attractive properties for hydrogen storage applications. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2014

Hydrogen storage a b s t r a c t The fabrication of coreeshell nanocrystals by incorporating micr... more Hydrogen storage a b s t r a c t The fabrication of coreeshell nanocrystals by incorporating microporous UiO-66 into mesoporous MIL-101 is reported. The growth of the coreeshell MIL-101@UiO-66 nanocrystals was observed and supported by TEM and PXRD. The accessible pore volumes of the individual metal-organic framework (MOF) components and the coreeshell hybrid crystals were also characterized. The hydrogen storage capacity exhibited by the resulting core eshell nanocrystals was 26% and 60% higher than those of pure phase MIL-101 and UiO-66, respectively. Finally, the fabricated coreeshell MIL-101@UiO-66 structure exhibited a high degree of moisture tolerance.

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2014

ABSTRACT Modulated synthesis of MIL-101(Cr) in high yield and with good reproducibility using for... more ABSTRACT Modulated synthesis of MIL-101(Cr) in high yield and with good reproducibility using formic acid as a modulator is reported. Higher molar ratio of formic acid/CrCl3 was found to form better shape-defined MIL-101(Cr) crystals with higher surface area, larger pore volume and better hydrogen uptake performance. The highly crystalline MIL-101(Cr), composed of crystals in the size range of 100–150 nm with multifaceted surface, could be obtained in an optimized molar regime of CrCl3·6H2O/H2BDC/100HCOOH/550H2O at 210 °C for 8 h. The MIL-101(Cr) obtained from the modulated synthesis also showed high thermal and moisture stabilities as well as enhanced hydrogen storage capacity, making this material particularly promising for practical hydrogen storage applications.

International Journal of Materials Research, 2014

Electrochimica Acta, 2014

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for hydrogen storage have continued to receive intense interest o... more Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for hydrogen storage have continued to receive intense interest over the past decade. MOFs are a class of organic-inorganic hybrid crystalline materials consisting of metallic moieties that are linked by strong coordination bonds to organic ligands. They exhibit a great structural diversity and possess low weight, exceptionally high surface areas, large free volumes, and tunable pore sizes and functionalities, making them extremely attractive for a variety of applications such as hydrogen storage. For these reasons MOFs have been extensively studied. In this paper, a review of recent developments on hydrogen storage in MOFs is presented, with a focus on the effects of various factors including open metal sites, 'guest' metal ions, ligand functionalization, surface area, pore volume, pore size, and Pt or Pd metal nanoparticles, on hydrogen storage. In addition, the review examines the emerging research on MOF hybrid hydrogen storage systems, primarily in the context of employing MOFs for nanoconfinement of high temperature hydrogen storage materials. The review focuses on experimental studies.

Fuel, 2012

In this study, the textural properties of chars generated from a vitrinite, high ash coal in a fl... more In this study, the textural properties of chars generated from a vitrinite, high ash coal in a fluidised bed gasifier under air-blown, oxygen-blown and oxygen-enriched conditions were determined by detailed petrographic analysis. The char samples were assessed in terms of their microscopic characteristics (reflectance properties, carbon rich forms (char types) and basic forms of visible minerals). The chars formed under oxygen-blown conditions exhibited the lowest in overall mean reflectance value and also possessed the lowest proportion of chars with reflectance values above 4% RoVr relative to those in the air-blown and oxygen-enriched samples. The oxygen-blown sample also possessed the lowest total carbon forms (53%) whereas the oxygen-enriched and air-blown chars had higher proportions of organic matter (58% and 60% respectively). Melted ''slag'' minerals were more common in the oxygen-blown char, totalling 31%, compared with 24% in the other two samples.

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Jan 13, 2014

Energy Procedia, Dec 31, 2012

Research on Chemical Intermediates, 2015

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2015

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2015

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2015

Zr-MOF nanocrystals Cr-MOF nanocrystals Electrospun nanofibers Hydrogen storage a b s t r a c t

A hierarchically structured zeolite derived from coal fly ash was used as a hard templating agent... more A hierarchically structured zeolite derived from coal fly ash was used as a hard templating agent for the synthesis of a templated carbonaceous material. The samples were characterized using XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA, EDS and BET. The resulting carbon had the same morphological features as the parent zeolite and was composed of more than 96% carbon which confirmed that the zeolite template was successfully removed. It is important to emphasize that the hierarchically structured zeolite was produced without the need for the use of structure directing template as well as from a waste material. Therefore the process of synthesizing hierachical carbon replicas starting from fly-ash derived zeolites presents a cost-effective alternative for producing carbonaceous material that are currently known to possess superior hydrogen storage properties. : SEM image of a hierachically structured fly ash-derived zeolite X.

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2015

Keywords: Metal-organic framework Application-specific configuration Hydrogen storage Drop test T... more Keywords: Metal-organic framework Application-specific configuration Hydrogen storage Drop test Tumbler drum test a b s t r a c t Shaping of Zr-MOF powder material into spherical pellets with diameters of 0.5e15 mm in the presence of 10 wt.% sucrose as a binder was successfully demonstrated using a granulator. Zr-MOF pellets were produced in a kilogram batch within 30 min operation time. This granulation approach is a more efficient way to shape MOF-type powder materials into application-specific configurations compared to the mechanical pressing method. The pellets could be conveniently packed in a small hydrogen storage tank. The physical degradation characteristics of the Zr-MOF pellets were studied by drop test and simulated tumbler drum test. The results showed zero breakage of the pellets after 70 consecutive drops at a height of 0.5 m and 5% breakage after 60 min of tumbling time at a speed of 25 rpm. Although the compromised value of the surface area led to a decreased hydrogen storage capacity, this shaping approach still holds promise given an appropriate choice of binder. ScienceDirect j o urn al h om epa ge: www.elsev ier.com/locate/he i n t e r n a t i o n a l j o u r n a l o f h y d r o g e n e n e r g y x x x ( 2 0 1 5 ) 1 e6

Journal of Technology Innovations in Renewable Energy, 2014

2014 IEEE 36th International Telecommunications Energy Conference (INTELEC), 2014

International Journal of Energy Research, 2014

ABSTRACT Clay and its recrystallized zeolitic derivatives were used in this study as templating a... more ABSTRACT Clay and its recrystallized zeolitic derivatives were used in this study as templating agents for carbon nanostructured materials. The conventional nanocasting process that involves impregnation with furfural alcohol and subsequent chemical vapour deposition was followed. Several techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and surface area analysis were used to characterize the parent templating materials including the resulting nanocasted carbons. The study demonstrated that there is greater potential for the use of value-added clays rather than their pristine form and hence presents a cost-effective alternative for producing carbonaceous materials with more attractive properties for hydrogen storage applications. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2014

Hydrogen storage a b s t r a c t The fabrication of coreeshell nanocrystals by incorporating micr... more Hydrogen storage a b s t r a c t The fabrication of coreeshell nanocrystals by incorporating microporous UiO-66 into mesoporous MIL-101 is reported. The growth of the coreeshell MIL-101@UiO-66 nanocrystals was observed and supported by TEM and PXRD. The accessible pore volumes of the individual metal-organic framework (MOF) components and the coreeshell hybrid crystals were also characterized. The hydrogen storage capacity exhibited by the resulting core eshell nanocrystals was 26% and 60% higher than those of pure phase MIL-101 and UiO-66, respectively. Finally, the fabricated coreeshell MIL-101@UiO-66 structure exhibited a high degree of moisture tolerance.

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2014

ABSTRACT Modulated synthesis of MIL-101(Cr) in high yield and with good reproducibility using for... more ABSTRACT Modulated synthesis of MIL-101(Cr) in high yield and with good reproducibility using formic acid as a modulator is reported. Higher molar ratio of formic acid/CrCl3 was found to form better shape-defined MIL-101(Cr) crystals with higher surface area, larger pore volume and better hydrogen uptake performance. The highly crystalline MIL-101(Cr), composed of crystals in the size range of 100–150 nm with multifaceted surface, could be obtained in an optimized molar regime of CrCl3·6H2O/H2BDC/100HCOOH/550H2O at 210 °C for 8 h. The MIL-101(Cr) obtained from the modulated synthesis also showed high thermal and moisture stabilities as well as enhanced hydrogen storage capacity, making this material particularly promising for practical hydrogen storage applications.

International Journal of Materials Research, 2014

Electrochimica Acta, 2014

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for hydrogen storage have continued to receive intense interest o... more Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for hydrogen storage have continued to receive intense interest over the past decade. MOFs are a class of organic-inorganic hybrid crystalline materials consisting of metallic moieties that are linked by strong coordination bonds to organic ligands. They exhibit a great structural diversity and possess low weight, exceptionally high surface areas, large free volumes, and tunable pore sizes and functionalities, making them extremely attractive for a variety of applications such as hydrogen storage. For these reasons MOFs have been extensively studied. In this paper, a review of recent developments on hydrogen storage in MOFs is presented, with a focus on the effects of various factors including open metal sites, 'guest' metal ions, ligand functionalization, surface area, pore volume, pore size, and Pt or Pd metal nanoparticles, on hydrogen storage. In addition, the review examines the emerging research on MOF hybrid hydrogen storage systems, primarily in the context of employing MOFs for nanoconfinement of high temperature hydrogen storage materials. The review focuses on experimental studies.

Fuel, 2012

In this study, the textural properties of chars generated from a vitrinite, high ash coal in a fl... more In this study, the textural properties of chars generated from a vitrinite, high ash coal in a fluidised bed gasifier under air-blown, oxygen-blown and oxygen-enriched conditions were determined by detailed petrographic analysis. The char samples were assessed in terms of their microscopic characteristics (reflectance properties, carbon rich forms (char types) and basic forms of visible minerals). The chars formed under oxygen-blown conditions exhibited the lowest in overall mean reflectance value and also possessed the lowest proportion of chars with reflectance values above 4% RoVr relative to those in the air-blown and oxygen-enriched samples. The oxygen-blown sample also possessed the lowest total carbon forms (53%) whereas the oxygen-enriched and air-blown chars had higher proportions of organic matter (58% and 60% respectively). Melted ''slag'' minerals were more common in the oxygen-blown char, totalling 31%, compared with 24% in the other two samples.