Thermogravimetric analysis of Cu, Mn, Co, and Pb oxides for thermochemical energy storage

Abstract The reversible reduction and oxidation (RedOx) reactions of CuO/Cu 2 O, Co 3 O 4 /CoO, Mn 2 O 3 /Mn 3 O 4 , and Pb 3 O 4 /PbO have been assessed experimentally with thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The temperature was maintained constant during charging and discharging of the thermochemical energy storage via pressure swing for a range of oxygen partial pressures spanning from 0.05 to 0.8 bar. The rate of oxidation reactions were assessed for a range of partial pressures, while changes to the structure of the materials was assessed with X-Ray diffraction spectra (XRD) before and after 10 successive reduction and oxidation cycles. The results show that the Co 3 O 4 /CoO, Mn 2 O 3 /Mn 3 O 4 , and CuO/Cu 2 O pairs have a potential for chemical storage at temperatures ranges from 900 °C to 1000 °C, while no thermochemical reaction was observed for Pb 3 O 4 up to a temperature of 550 °C.