Supported nickel-iron nanocomposites as a bifunctional catalyst towards hydrogen generation from N sub(2)H sub(4).H sub(2)O

Hydrogen represents an important alternative energy feedstock for both environmental and economic reasons. Development of highly selective, efficient and economical catalysts towards H sub(2) generation from hydrogen storage materials (e.g., hydrous hydrazine, N sub(2)H sub(4).H sub(2)O) has been on...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Green chemistry : an international journal and green chemistry resource : GC 2014-02, Vol.16 (3), p.1560-1568
Main Authors: Gao, Wa, Li, Changming, Chen, Hao, Wu, Min, He, Shan, Wei, Min, Evans, David G, Duan, Xue
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alloying elements
Catalysts
Economics
Iron compounds
Magnesium oxide
Nickel
Nickel base alloys
Nickel compounds
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Hydrogen represents an important alternative energy feedstock for both environmental and economic reasons. Development of highly selective, efficient and economical catalysts towards H sub(2) generation from hydrogen storage materials (e.g., hydrous hydrazine, N sub(2)H sub(4).H sub(2)O) has been one of the most active research areas. In this work, a bifunctional NiFe-alloy/MgO catalyst containing both an active center and a solid base center was obtained viaa calcination-reduction process of NiFeMg-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) precursor, which exhibits 100% conversion of N sub(2)H sub(4).H sub(2)O and up to 99% selectivity towards H sub(2) generation at room temperature, comparable to the most reported noble metal catalysts (e.g., Rh, Pt). The XRD, HRTEM and HAADF-STEM results confirm that well-dispersed NiFe alloy nanoparticles (NPs) with diameters of similar to 22 nm were embedded in a thermally stable MgO matrix. The EXAFS verifies the electronic interaction between nickel and iron elements in NiFe alloy NPs, accounting for the significantly enhanced low-temperature activity. The CO sub(2)-TPD results indicate that the strong basic sites on the surface of the NiFe-alloy/MgO catalyst contribute to the high H sub(2) selectivity.
ISSN:1463-9262
1463-9270
DOI:10.1039/c3gc41939h