Highly Dispersed Ruthenium Nanoparticles on Y2O3 as Superior Catalyst for Ammonia Decomposition

Abstract

AbstractDesign of highly active and stable catalysts for ammonia decomposition to produce COx‐free hydrogen is an urgent task for the utilization of NH3 as H2 carrier. Herein, Yttrium oxide (Y2O3) has been demonstrated to be capable of dispersing and stabilizing Ru nanoparticles as a functional support. Highly dispersed Ru nanoparticles on Y2O3 (Ru/Y2O3) was prepared and investigated as catalyst for NH3 decomposition. Under a relatively high weight gas hourly space velocity (30000 mL gcat−1 h−1), the Ru/Y2O3 with Ru content of 5 wt. % can catalyze NH3 decomposition with excellent catalytic activity and can achieve nearly complete NH3 conversion at 475 °C, superior to many typical oxides supported Ru catalysts. The Ru/Y2O3 catalyst is also highly stable for NH3 decomposition, and the activity can be well maintained in a period of 100 hours. Characterization results reveal that the superior catalytic performance of Ru/Y2O3 for NH3 decomposition reaction may originate from the high dispersion of Ru nanoparticles as well as their strong interaction with Y2O3 support. This work offers opportunity to achieve new kind of active and stable oxide supported Ru catalysts for NH3 decomposition reaction.