Flame Synthesis of Iron Oxide Nanowires for Direct Coal Chemical Looping Combustion, and Tungsten Oxide Nanowires for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting.

Abstract

The applications of metal oxide NWs are limited because conventional synthesis methods cannot achieve the scalable, rapid, controllable and economical synthesis of high-quality metal oxide NWs. In the present work, two novel methods for the flame synthesis of metal oxide NWs are developed, and the resulting nanowires tested for two promising, emerging energy conversion technologies: 1) Direct Coal Chemical Looping Combustion, and 2) Photoelectrochemical watersplitting. These synthesis methods are rapid, atmospheric, controllable and scalable, result in highly pure and crystalline materials, and could greatly extend the applicability of metal oxide nanowires to largescale energy conversion and storage problems.