Hydrogen production from ammonia decomposition over Ru/Co-Al-LDOs catalysts prepared by a one-step synthesis method of co-precipitation

The design of efficient ammonia cracking catalysts is the key to developing ammonia as a hydrogen storage carrier. This paper investigated the role of Co-Al hydrotalcite carriers in ruthenium-based catalysts. Ru/Co-Al catalysts were prepared by mechanical milling, impregnation, and co-precipitation, and the catalytic activity and physicochemical properties of the catalysts were investigated, respectively. The catalysts prepared by the coprecipitation method exhibit the maximum specific surface area and metal dispersion due to the layered structure of LDH and the homogeneity of the co-precipitation method. In this study, it is concluded that the substitution of Ru during the co-precipitation preparation builds up strong metal-carrier interactions and generates a large number of oxygen vacancies. The catalyst prepared by the co-precipitation method exhibited a high H2 generation rate (19.5 mmol center dot gcat- 1 center dot min- 1) at GHSV = 30,000 ml center dot gcat- 1 center dot h- 1 and 450 degrees C, and the performance remained stable after 50 h of reaction. This work provides a new idea for designing efficient Ru-based catalysts.