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David Peaslee
Center for Nanoscience
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Missouri - St. Louis
Adviser: E.H. Majzoub
Abstract
Thermodynamic and kinetic properties of metal hydrides may differ between bulk and nano-sized particles. By adjusting the size of these particles through confinement in nano-porous materials, properties including the hydrogen sorption rate and possibly decomposition temperature can be fine-tuned to meet engineering requirements for real-world systems. Studies of nano-structured carbon materials infiltrated with LiBH4 reveal differences in the decomposition pathway that depend on the carbon nano-pore size and the surface chemistry. Results of gas desorption using a direct line-of-site residual gas analyzer mass spectrometer (RGA-MS) system to characterize gas desorption species, decomposition temperatures, and differences in reaction pathways, for a variety of LiBH4/carbon systems are presented here. This project is partially funded through the NASA/Missouri Space Grant Consortium. Additional funding was provided through the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) through the hydrogen program, and the UMSL-Research Board.
David Peaslee is a California native attending the University of Missouri - St. Louis. He graduated with a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in Mathematics in 2007 from UMSL. He earned his M.S. in physics in 2008 and is presently a PhD student working as a research assistant with Dr. Eric Majzoub's material science research group.
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