Ni-Supported Pd Nanoparticles with Ca Promoter: A New Catalyst for Low-Temperature Ammonia Cracking

In this paper we report a new nanometallic, self-activating catalyst, namely, Ni-supported Pd nanoparticles (Pd(NPs)/Ni) for low temperature ammonia cracking, which was prepared using a novel approach involving the transfer of nanoparticles from the intermediate carrier, i.e. nano-spherical SiO(2), to the target carrier technical grade Ni (t-Ni) or high purity Ni (p-Ni) grains. The method that was developed allows a uniform nanoparticle size distribution (4,4±0.8 nm) to be obtained. Unexpectedly, the t-Ni-supported Pd NPs, which seemed to have a surface Ca impurity, appeared to be more active than the Ca-free (p-Ni) system. A comparison of the novel Pd(NPs)/Ni catalyst with these reported in the literature clearly indicates the much better hydrogen productivity of the new system, which seems to be a highly efficient, flexible and durable catalyst for gas-phase heterogeneous ammonia cracking in which the TOF reaches a value of 2615 mmol(H2)/g(Pd) min (10,570 mol(NH3)/mol(Pd(NP)) h) at 600°C under a flow of 12 dm(3)/h (t-Ni).