Preparation of nickel aluminate supported Ni nanocatalyst and its catalytic activity for ammonia decomposition to produce hydrogen

Abstract

In this work, nickel aluminate (NiAl2O4) was synthesized through the co-precipitation, and then the Ni/NiAl2O4 catalysts were prepared by impregnation and the catalytic activity of the catalyst was evaluated. The results indicated that the synthesized NiAl2O4 had a large specific surface area, promoting the dispersion of Ni species and thus exposing more active sites. The strong metal-support interaction between Ni species and NiAl2O4 contributed significantly to the catalysts' high catalytic activity. Meanwhile, the strong basicity of catalyst could adjust the bond energy of Ni–N, which were conducive to desorption of the recombinant N2 from the metal surface. The Ni/NiAl2O4 catalyst with Ni loading of 50 wt% and calcination temperature of 700 oC exhibited the best catalytic activity with ammonia conversion of 95.3% at 550 oC under 30000 mL∙gcat-1∙h-1. This study offers a potential approach to developing a cost-effective and highly efficient catalyst for decomposing ammonia.