PdRu/SBA15 catalysts for hydrogen storage by reversible N-ethylcarbazole hydrogenation/dehydrogenation reactions

Abstract

In this work, a stable double complex salt (DCS) on the surface of SBA-15 is constructed by phase transfer-assisted electrostatic adsorption method. DCS was then reduced by glow discharge plasma to obtain SBA-15 loaded PdRu bimetallic catalysts (PdRu/SBA15). The catalysts were characterized by nitrogen adsorption–desorption, TEM, FT-IR, XPS, H2-TPR and ICP-OES. The Pd anion dissolved by phase transfer is precisely adsorbed on the Ru cation, and this unique intimacy of two metals promotes the formation of stable structure. The synergistic effect of the DCS structure and the in-situ reduction of glow discharge plasma makes PdRu/SBA15 have highly dispersed and stable PdRu nanoparticles (NPs). PdRu/SBA15 is suitable for reversible hydrogen storage system. It not only catalyzed N-ethylcarbazole (NEC) hydrogenation efficiently, but also showed enhanced catalytic performance in the dehydrogenation of dodecahydro-N-ethylcarbazole (12H-NEC). The hydrogenation efficiency reached 99.8% for 80 min at 100 °C, H2 pressure of 5 Mpa and the dehydrogenation efficiency reached 100% for 6 h at 180 °C under the action of the same PdRu/SBA15 catalyst. Moreover, the catalytic activity of PdRu/SBA15 catalyst did not decrease obviously after seven cycles in reversible hydrogen storage. The reversible hydrogen storage PdRu catalysts with excellent activity has a very bright prospect in the practical application of fuel cells.