• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.393-400
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• 2014

NiO catalysts were successfully coated onto FeCrAl metal alloy foam as a catalyst support via a dip-coating method. To demonstrate the optimum amount of NiO catalyst on the FeCrAl metal alloy foam, the molar concentration of the Ni precursor in a coating solution was controlled, with five different amounts of 0.4 M, 0.6 M, 0.8 M, 1.0 M, and 1.2 M for a dip-coating process. The structural, morphological, and chemical bonding properties of the NiO-catalyst-coated FeCrAl metal alloy foam samples were assessed by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy(SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction(XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). In particular, when the FeCrAl metal alloy foam samples were coated using a coating solution with a 0.8 M Ni precursor, well-dispersed NiO catalysts on the FeCrAl metal alloy foam compared to the other samples were confirmed. Also, the XPS results exhibited the chemical bonding states of the NiO phases and the FeCrAl metal alloy foam. The results showed that a dip-coating method is one of best ways to coat well-dispersed NiO catalysts onto FeCrAl metal alloy foam.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.324-329
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• 2018

Needle-like NiO protecting layers on NiCrAl alloy foam, used as support for hydrogen production, are introduced through electroplated Ni and subsequent microwave annealing. To improve the stability of the NiCrAl alloy foam, oxygen concentration of microwave annealing to form a needle-like NiO layer with good chemical stability and corrosion resistance is controlled in a range of 20 and 50 %. As the oxygen concentration increases to 50 %, needle-like NiO forms a dense coating layer on the NiCrAl alloy foam; this layer formation can be attributed to accelerated growth of the (200) plane. In addition, the increased oxygen concentration causes increased NiO/Ni ratio of the resultant coating layer on NiCrAl alloy foam due to improved rate of the oxidation reaction. As a result, the introduction of dense needle-like NiO layers formed at 50 % oxygen concentration improves the chemical stability of the NiCrAl alloy foam by protecting the direct electrochemical reaction between the electrolyte and the foam. Thus, needle-like NiO can be proposed as a superb protecting layer to improve the chemical stability of NiCrAl alloy form.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.328-335
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• 2019

Nb-doped $TiO_2$(NTO) coated NiCrAl alloy foam for hydrogen production is prepared using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition(USPD) method. To optimize the size and distribution of NTO particles based on good physical and chemical stability, we synthesize particles by adjusting the weight ratio of the Nb precursor solution(5 wt%, 10 wt% and 15 wt%). The morphological, chemical bonding, and structural properties of the NTO coated NiCrAl alloy foam are investigated by X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy(XPS), and Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy(FESEM). As a result, the samples of controlled Nb weight ratio exhibit a common diffraction pattern at ${\sim}25.3^{\circ}$, corresponding to the(101) plane, and have chemical bonding(O-Nb=O) at 534 eV. The NTO particles with the optimum weight ratio of N (10 wt%) show a uniform distribution with a size of ~18.2-21.0 nm. In addition, they exhibit the highest corrosion resistance even in the electrochemical stability estimation. As a result, the introduction of NTO coated NiCrAl alloy foam by USPD improves the chemical stability of the NiCrAl alloy foam by protecting the direct electrochemical reaction between the foam and the electrolyte. Thus, the optimized NTO coating can be proposed for excellent protection of NiCrAl alloy foam for hydrocarbon-based steam methane reforming(SMR).

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.392-397
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• 2017

Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated NiCrAl alloy foam is fabricated using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis deposition (USPD). To confirm the influence of the FTO layer on the NiCrAl alloy foam, we investigated the structural, chemical, and morphological properties and chemical resistance by using USPD to adjust the FTO coating time (12, 18, and 24 min). As a result, when an FTO layer was coated for 24 min on NiCrAl alloy foam, it was found to have an enhanced chemical resistance compared to those of the other samples. This improvement in the chemical resistance of using USPD NiAlCr alloy foam can be the result of the existence of an FTO layer, which can act as a protection layer between the NiAlCr alloy foam and the electrolyte and also the result of the increased thickness of the FTO layer, which enhances the diffusion length of the metal ion.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.391-397
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• 2015

NiO catalysts/$Al_2O_3$/FeCrAl alloy foam for hydrogen production was prepared using atomic layer deposition (ALD) and subsequent dip-coating methods. FeCrAl alloy foam and $Al_2O_3$ inter-layer were used as catalyst supports. To improve the dispersion and stability of NiO catalysts, an $Al_2O_3$ inter-layer was introduced and their thickness was systematically controlled to 0, 20, 50 and 80 nm using an ALD technique. The structural, chemical bonding and morphological properties (including dispersion) of the NiO catalysts/$Al_2O_3$/FeCrAl alloy foam were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy. In particular, to evaluate the stability of the NiO catalysts grown on $Al_2O_3$/FeCrAl alloy foam, chronoamperometry tests were performed and then the ingredient amounts of electrolytes were analyzed via inductively coupled plasma spectrometer. We found that the introduction of $Al_2O_3$ inter-layer improved the dispersion and stability of the NiO catalysts on the supports. Thus, when an $Al_2O_3$ inter-layer with a 80 nm thickness was grown between the FeCrAl alloy foam and the NiO catalysts, it indicated improved dispersion and stability of the NiO catalysts compared to the other samples. The performance improvement can be explained by optimum thickness of $Al_2O_3$ inter-layer resulting from the role of a passivation layer.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.393-399
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• 2016

Flower-like nickel oxide (NiO) catalysts were coated on NiCrAl alloy foam using a hydrothermal method. The structural, morphological, and chemical bonding properties of the NiO catalysts coated on the NiCrAl alloy foam were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. To obtain flower-like morphology of NiO catalysts on the NiCrAl alloy foam, we prepared three different levels of pH of the hydrothermal solution: pH-7.0, pH-10.0, and pH-11.5. The NiO morphology of the pH-7.0 and pH-10.0 samples exhibited a large size plate owing to the slow reaction of the hydroxide ($OH^-$) and nickel ions ($Ni^+$) in lower pH than pH-11.5. Flower-like NiO catalysts (${\sim}4.7{\mu}m-6.6{\mu}m$) were formed owing to the fast reaction of $OH^-$ and $Ni^{2+}$ by increased $OH^-$ concentration at high pH. Thus, the flower-like morphology of NiO catalysts on NiCrAl alloy foam depends strongly on the pH of the hydrothermal solution.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.93-99
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• 2015

This study investigated the microstructure and tensile properties of a recently made block-type Ni-Cr-Al powder porous material. The block-type powder porous material was made by stacking multiple layers of powder porous thin plates with post-processing such as additional compression and sintering. This study used block-type powder porous materials with two different cell sizes: one with an average cell size of $1,200{\mu}m$ (1200 foam) and the other with an average cell size of $3,000{\mu}m$ (3000 foam). The ${\gamma}$-Ni and ${\gamma}^{\prime}-Ni_3Al$ were identified as the main phases of both materials. However, in the case of the 1,200 foam, a ${\beta}$-NiAl phase was additionally observed. The relative density of each block-type powder porous material, with 1200 foam and 3000 foam, was measured to be 5.78% and 2.93%, respectively. Tensile tests were conducted with strain rates of $10^{-2}{\sim}10^{-4}sec^{-1}$. The test result showed that the tensile strength of the 1,200 foam was 6.0~7.1 MPa, and that of 3,000 foam was 3.0~3.3 MPa. The elongation of the 3,000 foam was higher (~9%) than that (~2%) of the 1,200 foam. This study also discussed the deformation behavior of block-type powder porous material through observations of the fracture surface, with the results above.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.489-493
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• 2010

Nickel-based and iron-based alloys have been developed and commercialized for a wide range of high performance applications at severely corrosive and high temperature environment. This alloy foam has an outstanding performance which is predestinated for diesel particulate filters, heat exchangers, and catalyst support, noise absorbers, battery, fuel cell, and flame distributers in burners in chemical and automotive industry. Production of alloy foam starts from high-tech coating technology and heat treatment of transient liquid-phase sintering in the high temperature. These technology allow for preparation of a wide variety of foam compositions such as Ni, Cr, Al, Fe on various pore size of pure nickel foam or iron foam in order for tailoring material properties to a specific application.