14^th International Conference on Energy and Materials Research December 06-07, 2017 Dallas, Texas, USA

Shrok Allami is a Scientific Researcher in Ministry of Science and Technology, Renewable Energy Directory, Department of Hydrogen and Bio-fuel. She has completed her PhD in 2007 from University Technology, Iraq. She has published more than 25 papers in reputed journals, participates in more than 16 national and international conferences as a Researcher and at their committees. She has been serving as an Editorial Board Member in Iraqi scientific journals.

Stainless steel used widely as electrodes into hydrogen production electrolyzer. Several techniques used to improve their efficiency to produce hydrogen. In this work, nitrogen DC glow discharge plasma, as a surface modification technique on AISI 316 stainless steel performed for different periods; 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours to modify their surface properties via creating ε-Fe3N phase. From the first treatment period, ε-Fe3N phase detected as XRD and XPS studies confirmed. Electro chemical and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy EIS measurements held to determine the hydrogen evolution rate HER and mechanism regarding ε-Fe3N phase formation and growth. Effect of surface modification on hydrogen evolution rate via distilled water displacement using small electrolyzer with 20 wt. % KOH aqueous electrolyte prepared for this purpose, show that production rate increased with hydrophilicity and plasma treatment periods. It was found that ε-Fe3N phase formation and growth with plasma treatment periods enhance HER properties regarding to Tafel slope, over-potential, polarization resistance and surface hydrophilicity changes.

Juan Orozco is a Chemical Engineer and is currently studying Master’s degree in Corrosion of Materials exposed to high temperatures at the Industrial University of Santander, Colombia. His research focuses on the behavior of ASTM A335 P92 steel in corrosion atmospheres, specifically in refinery atmospheres. He has a great interest in the science of materials engineering and from his field of research seeks to contribute to the scientific community in the study of the corrosive phenomena and changes that occur in this type of real environments in the petrochemical industries.

This work studies the corrosive behavior of ASTM A335 P92 steel in simulated refinery environments: O2-N2-H2O and O2-H2O. Within the working conditions were selected four working temperatures: 450, 550, 650 and 750°C; also five service times: 1, 20, 50, 100 and 200 hours. It was possible to observe the micro-structural changes produced in the steel through the corrosive environments, as well as changes in physical properties such as hardness and micro-hardness. Through the kinetic study of the material a characteristic parabolic behavior could be observed. By means of the characterization technique of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), it was possible to analyze the morphological behavior of the layers; As well as by the technique of energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), the chemical compositions of the elements present in each of the formed layers were determined. In addition, X-ray diffraction (DRX) and X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques were analyzed on this material to identify corrosion products formed.

Sandile Surprise Gwebu is a Masters’ student specializing in direct alcohol fuel cells. My work entails preparation of catalysts for Alcohol Oxidation Reactions and Oxygen Reduction Reactions. In my research group, we are exploring the chemistry of carbon nano-materials. We then use them as support materials for supporting alloys of Pt or Pd. These nano composites are used as electro catalysts for direct alcohol fuel cells.

Direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) are potential energy sources for portable electronics owing to their quiet operation at ambient temperatures. Ethanol is promising fuel in DEFCs, it is abundant, environmentally friendly and has a high energy density. However, its electro-oxidation to CO2 has not been achieved exclusively on the surface of any anode material at temperatures that are compatible with proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology due to the difficulties in C–C bond breaking and the formation of CO intermediates that poison the platinum anode catalyst. The challenges hindering the commercialization of DAFCs include the inefficiency of supports materials and the high cost of platinum, hence, it is recommended to alloy platinum with a cheaper metal to reduce Pt loading and improve the activity. Carbon nano dots (CNDs) are a new class of carbon nano materials with sizes below 10 nm. Th ey are abundant, cheap, non-toxic and easy to functionalize. In the present work we demonstrate that Pt-Sn nanoparticles supported on carbon nano dots can act as efficient anode catalysts for direct alcohol fuel cells. Th e Pt-Sn/CNDs electro catalyst was synthesized by the alcohol reduction method. Th e synthesized electro catalyst was characterized by XPS, TEM, XRD and ICP-EOS. Th e electro chemical oxidation of ethanol and methanol was studied by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Th e electro chemical tests proved that the Pt-Sn/CNDs electro catalyst exhibited high current densities and lower poisoning rates compared to the Pt/CNDs and commercial Pt/C electrocatalysts.

Yazan Maswadeh is an experienced Research Assistant working in Material Science field. He is skilled in HE-XRD, EDS, XPS, data analysis and data mining. The latest project in which he works on is about the structural dynamics and activity of nano catalysts inside fuel cells by high energy X-ray diffraction (HE-XRD) coupled with in-operando atomic pair distribution studies (PDF), cyclic voltammetry (CV), x-ray energy depressive spectroscopy(EDX) and molecular dynamics (MD). To reveal the activity and stability of nano alloy catalysts for chemical reactions driving devices for clean energy conversion.

The activity and stability of nano alloy catalysts for the chemical reactions driving devices for clean energy conversion, such as the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), depend critically on optimizing the composition, surface area and phase type of the nano alloys, including the bonding interactions between the constituent atoms, for the harsh operating conditions inside the devices. We present results from in operando high-energy X-ray diffraction (HE-XRD) study coupled by atomic pair distribution function (PDF) analysis and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) on the concurrent atomic-scale changes and decay of the ORR activity of Pd-Sn, Pt-Ni-Cu nano alloy catalysts as they function at the cathode of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Here, we address the problem by studying the atomic-level evolution of noble metal-based nano alloy catalysts for ORR as they function at the cathode of an actual proton exchange membrane fuel cell(PEMFC). We use 1-min time and μm-sized space resolved energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and total X-ray scattering to obtain precise information about the chemical composition, geometric surface area, phase content, 3D arrangement and strength of interaction between the constituent atoms of the nano alloys. Besides, we evaluate the utilization of the nano alloy catalysts by measuring variations in their chemical composition and mass distribution over the PEMFC cathode. Concurrently, we measure the current output of the cell that reflects the ORR activity of the nano alloys. Experimental X-ray data show that the atomic-level changes of nano alloys can occur simultaneously over different time frames, ranging from minutes-long structural phase transitions to hours-long alterations in chemical composition, and in multiple dimensions, ranging from repetitive sub-Å atomic displacements to nm-sized particle growth. Besides, X-ray data reveal considerable exchange of atomic species between individual nano alloy particles, that is, effective mass transport across the PEMFC cathode. Experimental catalytic data show that the ORR activity of nano alloys closely tracks the atomic-level changes they undergo during the PEMFC operation. Ultimately, we demonstrate the great potential of combined in operando EDS and PDF studies as a tool for guiding the effort to produce more efficient and affordable nano catalysts for energy related applications.

Austin Reed received his BSME from Baylor University in 2016. He is currently pursuing a Master's of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Baylor University. His research focuses on the innovation of transparent flexible electronics and renewable energy devices under the guidance of his advisor, Dr. Sunghwan Lee.

In recent years, the demand for oxide semiconductors which exhibit low resistivity (~10-4 Ω-cm) and high transparency in the visible regime (>85%) has significantly increased due to the emergence of next-generation display devices and photo-voltaic. Conventional amorphous-Si display devices, while still broadly used, possess relatively low field effect mobility (≤1 cm2/V-s) in thin-film transistor (TFT) applications, thus limiting crucial characteristics such as pixel-switching speeds. However, recent investigations into transition-metal oxide semiconductors, such as In-Ga-Zn-O, have revealed promising high field effect mobilities of ≥10 cm2/V-s, indicating faster switching speeds required by ultra-high-definition display devices. Additionally, certain transition-metal oxide materials, such as In-Zn-O, exhibit the ability to serve as both conducting and semiconducting materials depending on fabrication parameters - expanding transition-metal oxide applications to transparent electrodes in devices such as photo-voltaic (PV) cells. Not only do the high carrier mobilities exhibited in these materials allow for an increase in conductivity without compromising the transparency of the material, they also help extract charge more rapidly from the donor/acceptor interface in PV cells, hence reducing recombination rates and increasing device performance. In this study, it is shown that aluminum-doped indium zinc oxide (IAZO) can possess a promisingly high carrier mobility of ~90 cm2/V-s, while also maintaining desirable transparent conducting oxide characteristics such as low-temperature fabrication (<100 oC), low resistivity (~3x10-4 Ω-cm in as-deposited conditions), and optical transparency in the visible regime of >85%. IAZO films have been prepared via DC/RF magnetron co-sputter systems. Post-fabrication analysis consists of a thorough investigation of the electrical and optical properties of IAZO such as carrier mobility, carrier density, resistivity, visible regime transmittance (%T), and optical band gap. As-deposited IAZO’s mobility of ~40 cm2/V-s increases to ~90 cm2/V-s after a 1hr low- T air anneal at 100oC and then decreases to ~60 cm2/V-s while the annealing T approaches 300oC. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed on the IAZO samples in order to investigate amorphous/crystalline structures. XRD results indicate excellent amorphous phase stability aft er annealing process. UV-vis data indicates that all IAZO films fabricated show excellent %T (>90%) in the majority of the visible spectrum and that the optical band gap of IAZO films is a function of both RF power and annealing temperature.

Rola Mohammed Derbeshi is a native of Saudi Arabia. Rola is earned B.S. in Physics, University of Janzan, Saudi Arabia, 2010 and M.S. in Physics, Morgan State University, USA, 2017 Fall. She was an active student there. She used to be teaching Assistant at the University of Jazan, College of Arts and Sciences, 2014, Research assistant on theoretical modelling, the University of Jazan, College of Arts and Sciences, 2009 - 2010, Research assistant on flexible electrodes and solar cells, Morgan State University, Department of Physics, 2015 - 2016. Rola won a full scholarship from the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to study in USA, 2014 - 2017. His primary research interests are in the nano material. She got a chance to work (NIST) as a researcher for one year.

Transparent flexible electronics are highly demanded for modern technology applications such as solar cells, lightning displays, and wearable requirements. Here porous-nickel-film based flexible and transparent electrodes (FTEs) were investigated. The continuous, holey, and lacey nickel films were fabricated on various polyaimide substrates using DC sputtering. The electrical resistance and resistance ratio (R/R0) of the prepared nickel electrodes were characterized under various experimental conditions, such as bending, stretching, and twisting. It was found that the electrical resistance increases in either quadratic (second order polynomial) or exponential trend in the three types of electrodes under bending. During stretching, the resistance increases polynomially, exponentially or linearly with strain rate. The same electrical behavior was observed under twisting. Their physical properties were also characterized with X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and vibrating-sample magnetometer. These fabricated nickel films are magnetic and can be used for several FTE applications in the future.

Tingting Liu works as associate professor in Institute of Circular Economy, Beijing University of Technology. She has a multi-subject education background on both ecology and economics, and had worked in Agriculture and Agri-food Canada for 2.5 years. She has published more than 15 papers in reputed journals such as Applied Energy, Environmental Science & Policy, Resources, Conservation and Recycling.

Biodiesel is a kind of renewable and environmental beneficial energy, which can be derived from a variety of feed-stock. Waste cooking oil (WCO) that used as the feed-stock of biodiesel has the potential to reduce pollution and increase energy supply. We applied the SWOT analysis to study the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and threats of WCO as the feed-stock for biodiesel production in China. The results show that strengths include supplying biodiesel, ensuring food security, and having positive environmental impacts. The weaknesses include the complex production process, some technical problems such as low-temperature properties, instability during storage, and slight emissions of nitrogen oxide. Biodiesel industry can create new jobs for people, so the government has been making laws and regulations to support its development such as subsidy. What is more, people are becoming more and more concern about the food safety problems especially for the use of reprocessed WCO which form the supervision by public. Those mentioned above are all the opportunities for biodiesel. Slight punishments and confusing regulations are some of the threats. Others include lacking of economic incentive which makes biodiesel produced from WCO noncompetitive in price and WCO illegally flowing back to table.