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Synthesis and characterization of nickel-based catalyst for low temperature ammonia decomposition
Braford, John Mathews, Sean Way, J. Douglas Wolden, Colin Andrew
Braford, John
Mathews, Sean
Way, J. Douglas
Wolden, Colin Andrew
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2025-04
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Green hydrogen derived from renewable electrolysis is an attractive zero-carbon fuel due to its high energy density and clean combustion products, but it is costly to store and transport. An alternative is to store hydrogen via chemical bonds in liquid carriers such as ammonia, which can be reformed on site to yield fuel. Catalysts reduce the energy barrier for decomposition, enabling low temperature operation. Ruthenium-based catalysts are state-of-the-art, but costly. This project focused on the development and characterization of nickel-lanthana as an earth abundant alternative. A NiLaO3 perovskite precursor was first produced by auto combustion synthesis and then subsequently reduced to form the Ni/La2O3 catalyst. Phys- and chem-isorption are analytical tools used to characterize the specific surface area and metal dispersion, both critical to catalyst performance. In this project I installed a new instrument and validated its operation before applying it to both commercial Ru and in-house Ni/La2O3 catalysts. These characterization tools were used to help optimize synthesis parameters and provide mechanistic insight. The Ni/La2O3 catalysts display high activity at low temperature, with rates approaching that of the Ru benchmark. These experiments suggested strategies to further increase the performance of earth-abundant catalysts for their application in industrial hydrogen production.
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