Supported nickel-iron nanocomposites as a bifunctional catalyst towards hydrogen generation from N2H4·H2OElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c3gc41939h

• Main Authors: Gao, Wa, Li, Changming, Chen, Hao, Wu, Min, He, Shan, Wei, Min, Evans, David G, Duan, Xue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1463-9262; 1463-9270
• DOI: 10.1039/c3gc41939h

Hydrogen represents an important alternative energy feedstock for both environmental and economic reasons. Development of highly selective, efficient and economical catalysts towards H 2 generation from hydrogen storage materials ( e.g. , hydrous hydrazine, N 2 H 4 ·H 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 via a calcination-reduction process of NiFeMg-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) precursor, which exhibits 100% conversion of N 2 H 4 ·H 2 O and up to 99% selectivity towards H 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 ∼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 2 -TPD results indicate that the strong basic sites on the surface of the NiFe-alloy/MgO catalyst contribute to the high H 2 selectivity. A bifunctional NiFe-alloy/MgO catalyst was obtained via a calcination-reduction process of the NiFeMg-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) precursor, which exhibits excellent catalytic behavior towards hydrogen generation from N 2 H 4 ·H 2 O decomposition at room temperature.