Browsing by Author "Boukoureshtlieva R."

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    MICROWAVE-ASSISTED SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES AS CATALYST FOR AIR GAS-DIFFUSION ELECTRODES
    (2022-01-01) Mladenova B.; Stankulov T.; Stankov S.; Boukoureshtlieva R.; Momchilov A.; Karsheva M.; Hinkov I.
    In this work, silver nanoparticles were synthesized from silver nitrate aqueous solution by using microwave irradiation. The morphology of the synthesized nanoparticles was studied by UV-Vis spectroscopy and by transmission electron microscopy showing spherical shapes with diameters of about 10 nm. The X-ray diffraction analysis exhibits their crystalline nature with face-centered cubic structure. Afterward, silver nanoparticles were integrated into activated carbon Norit NK to obtain catalytic composites. These composites were incorporated in the active layer of air gas-diffusion electrodes in order to study the catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction. For this purpose, a non-aggressive electrolyte solution of NaCl was used as an electrolyte. The obtained electrochemical results show a stable operation of all electrodes. Higher performance was found for composites containing 2 % wt. silver nanoparticles.
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    SONOCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES FOR GAS-DIFFUSION ELECTRODES APPLICATION
    (2024-01-01) Mladenova B.; Stankulov T.; Stankov S.; Karsheva M.; Hinkov I.; Momchilov A.; Boukoureshtlieva R.
    The aim of the current study is to explore the application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as a catalyst in air gas-diffusion electrodes (AGDE). AgNPs have been successfully synthesized through an original sonochemical method. The effects of reagent concentrations, temperature and reaction time were studied as well. Composites of AgNPs and activated carbon (Norit NK) were prepared by using two adsorption methods to demonstrate the catalytic activity. Method 1 involves homogenizing preliminary prepared AgNPs colloid solution and Norit NK followed by evaporation of the suspension. One-step route was used for Method 2, i.e. all components were mixed altogether and sonicated, resulting in the AgNPs formation directly on the surface and inside the pores of Norit NK. Additionally, some of the samples were thermally treated at 300°C for 1h under air and argon. The composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-Ray analysis (SEM/EDX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The catalytic activity of the obtained composites regarding oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was investigated in AGDE using an aqueous 4M NaCl electrolyte. The thermally treated composite obtained via Method 2 appears to show improved electrochemical catalytic activity regarding ORR in comparison to the Method 1 samples.