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1. Aluminum foam-based ultrafast electronucleation of hydrates

   Acharya, P; Shahriari, A; Carpenter, K; Bahadur, V (July 2017, Proceedings of the ASME Summer Heat Transfer Conference)

   Nucleation of hydrates requires very long induction (wait) times, often ranging from hours to days. Electronucleation, i.e. nucleation stimulated by the presence of an electric field in the precursor solution can reduce the induction time significantly. This work reveals that porous aluminum foams enable near-instantaneous electronucleation at very low voltages. Experiments with tetrahydrofuran hydrate nucleation reveal that open-cell aluminum foam electrodes can trigger nucleation in only tens of seconds. Foam-based electrodes reduce the induction time by as much as 150X, when compared to non-foam electrodes. This work also discusses two mechanisms underlying electronucleation. These include bubble generation (due to electrolysis), and the formation of metal-ion coordination compounds. These mechanisms depend on electrode material and polarity, and affect the induction time to different extents. This work also shows that foams result in more deterministic nucleation (compared to stochastic) when compared with non-foam electrodes. Overall, electronucleation can lead to a new class of technologies for active control of formation of hydrates. 

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2. Mechanisms underlying rapid electronucleation and freezing of hydrates

   Acharya, P; Shahriari, A; Lin, D; Bahadur, V. (November 2017, Proceedings of ASME 2017 International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition)

   Nucleation of hydrates is constrained by very long induction (wait) times, which can range from hours to days. Electronucleation (application of an electrical potential across the precursor solution) can significantly reduce the induction time for nucleation. This study shows that porous aluminum foams (open-cell) enable near-instantaneous electronucleation at very low voltages. Experiments with tetrahydrofuran hydrates reveal that aluminum foam electrodes enable voltage-dependent nucleation with induction times of only tens of seconds at voltages as low as 20 V. Foam-based electrodes can reduce the induction time by up to 150X when compared to non-foam electrodes. Furthermore, this study reveals that electronucleation can be attributed to two distinct phenomena, namely bubble generation (due to electrolysis), and the formation of metal-ion coordination compounds. These mechanisms affect the induction time to different extents and depend on electrode material and polarity. Overall, this work uncovers the benefits of using foams for formation of hydrates, with foams aiding nucleation as well as propagation of the hydrate formation front. 

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3. Mechanisms underlying foam-based electronucleation of hydrates

   Acharya, P; Lin, D; Bahadur, V (June 2018, Proceedings of the 2018 International Conference on Nanochannels, Microchannels and Minichannels)

   Nucleation of clathrate hydrates at low temperatures is constrained by very long induction (wait) times, which can range from hours to days. Electronucleation (application of an electrical potential difference across the hydrate forming solution) can significantly reduce the induction time. This work studies the use of porous open-cell foams of various materials as electronucleation electrodes. Experiments with tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrates reveal that aluminum and carbon foam electrodes can enable voltage-dependent nucleation, with induction times dependent on the ionization tendency of the foam material. Furthermore, we observe a non-trivial dependence of the electronucleation parameters such as induction time and the recalescence temperature on the water:THF molar ratio. This study further corroborates previously developed hypotheses which associated rapid hydrate nucleation with the formation of metal-ion coordination compounds. Overall, this work studies various aspects of electronucleation with aluminum and carbon foams. 

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4. Carbon Foam/CaCl ₂ ·6H ₂ O Composite as a Phase-Change Material for Thermal Energy Storage

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.3c01275  

   Jing, Yikang; Dixit, Kunal; Schiffres, Scott N; Liu, Hao (July 2023, Energy & Fuels)

   Inorganic salt hydrates are promising phase-change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage due to their high latent heat of fusion. However, their practical application is often limited by their unstable form, dehydration, large supercooling, and low thermal conductivity. Porous melamine foam and its carbonized derivatives are potential supporting porous materials to encapsulate inorganic salt hydrate PCMs to address these problems. This work investigates the effect of pyrolysis temperature on the morphology and structure of the carbonized foams and their thermal energy storage performance. Pyrolysis of melamine foam at 700−900 °C leads to the formation of crystalline sodium cyanate and sodium carbonate particles on the foam skeleton surface, which allows the spontaneous impregnation of the carbon foam with molten CaCl2·6H2O.The form-stable foam-CaCl2·6H2O composite effectively suppresses supercooling and dehydration, demonstrating the efficacy of carbon foam as a promising supporting material for inorganic salt hydrate PCMs. 

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5. Interfacial rheology insights: particle texture and Pickering foam stability

   https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-648X/acde2c  

   Brown, Nick; de la Pena, Alec; Razavi, Sepideh (June 2023, Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter)

   Abstract Interfacial rheology studies were conducted to establish a connection between the rheological characteristics of particle-laden interfaces and the stability of Pickering foams. The behavior of foams stabilized with fumed and spherical colloidal silica particles was investigated, focusing on foam properties such as bubble microstructure and liquid content. Compared to a sodium dodecyl sulfate-stabilized foam, Pickering foams exhibited a notable reduction in bubble coarsening. Drop shape tensiometry measurements on particle-coated interfaces indicated that the Gibbs stability criterion was satisfied for both particle types at various surface coverages, supporting the observed arrested bubble coarsening in particle-stabilized foams. However, although the overall foam height was similar for both particle types, foams stabilized with fumed silica particles demonstrated a higher resistance to liquid drainage. This difference was attributed to the higher yield strain of interfacial networks formed by fumed silica particles, as compared to those formed by spherical colloidal particles at similar surface pressures. Our findings highlight that while both particles can generate long-lasting foams, the resulting Pickering foams may exhibit variations in microstructure, liquid content, and resistance to destabilization mechanisms, stemming from the respective interfacial rheological properties in each case. 

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