Modification of Electrospun CeO(2) Nanofibers with CuCrO(2) Particles Applied to Hydrogen Harvest from Steam Reforming of Methanol

Hydrogen is the alternative renewable energy source for addressing the energy crisis, global warming, and climate change. Hydrogen is mostly obtained in the industrial process by steam reforming of natural gas. In the present work, CuCrO(2) particles were attached to the surfaces of electrospun CeO(2) nanofibers to form CeO(2)-CuCrO(2) nanofibers. However, the CuCrO(2) particles did not readily adhere to the surfaces of the CeO(2) nanofibers, so a trace amount of SiO(2) was added to the surfaces to make them hydrophilic. After the SiO(2) modification, the CeO(2) nanofibers were immersed in Cu-Cr-O precursor and annealed in a vacuum atmosphere to form CeO(2)-CuCrO(2) nanofibers. The CuCrO(2), CeO(2), and CeO(2)-CuCrO(2) nanofibers were examined by X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscope, thermogravimetric analysis, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller studies (BET). The BET surface area of the CeO(2)-CuCrO(2) nanofibers was 15.06 m(2)/g. The CeO(2)-CuCrO(2) nanofibers exhibited hydrogen generation rates of up to 1335.16 mL min(−1) g-cat(−1) at 773 K. Furthermore, the CeO(2)-CuCrO(2) nanofibers produced more hydrogen at lower temperatures. The hydrogen generation performance of these CeO(2)-CuCrO(2) nanofibers could be of great importance in industry and have an economic impact.