A series of Ni–Al2O3 catalysts derived from layered double hydroxides for vapor phase catalytic exchange between water and hydrogen

Abstract

Fabricating supported metal catalysts from layered double hydroxides (LDHs) is a promising strategy to develop high-efficient and low-cost materials for water detritiation. In this work, a series of NiAl-LDHs with different Ni/Al ratios were prepared and reduced to obtain Ni-based catalysts with Al2O3 support (Nix-Al2O3) and further tested in vapor phase catalytic exchange (VPCE) process. Results revealed that the activity of catalysts varies with Ni/Al molar ratios and is also affected by textural properties. Remarkably, the Ni2–Al2O3 with the Ni/Al molar ratio of 2 exhibited excellent activity, due to the balanced factors of Ni content, specific surface area, Ni particle size and Al3+ configuration proportion. This study sheds some light on reaction mechanism of VPCE process and may be applicable for the rational design of highly efficient catalysts.