Thermocatalytic conversion of methane to highly pure hydrogen over Ni–Cu/MgO·Al2O3 catalysts: Influence of noble metals (Pt and Pd) on the catalytic activity and stability

Abstract

In this article, the synthesis, characterization and catalytic performance of the Pd and Pt promoted Ni-Cu/MgO·Al2O3 catalysts were investigated in the thermocatalytic dehydrogenation of methane to highly pure hydrogen. The physicochemical properties of the prepared catalysts were investigated using different characterization methods such as XRD, BET, SEM, TEM, XPS, H2-TPR and TPO techniques. The Ni–Cu/MgO·Al2O3 catalyst possessing mesoporous structure and large BET surface area (126.28 m2 g−1) was successfully synthesized by facile simultaneous sol-gel method (SSGM) in the absence of surfactants. The results showed that the addition of Pd significantly improved the catalytic activity and stability. The effect of different nominal loadings of palladium (2, 4 and 6 wt%) on the catalytic performance was also studied. Among the prepared samples, the promoted sample with 4 wt% of palladium showed optimal catalytic performance and stability at higher temperatures towards methane thermocatalytic decomposition.