Abstract
The catalytic performance is highly related to the catalyst structure. Herein, a series of Ni nanoparticles supported on Y2O3 with different morphologies were successfully synthesized via hydrothermal process screening different pH environments. These Ni/Y2O3 catalysts were applied to efficiently produce COx-free H-2 through ammonia decomposition. We identify a significant impact of Y2O3 supports on nickel nanoclusters sizes and dispersion. The experimental results show that Ni/Y11 catalyst achieves 100% ammonia decomposition conversion under a gas hour space velocity (GHSV) of 12,000 ml.h(-1).g(cat)(-1) and temperature of 650 degrees C. Such a high level of activity over Ni/Y11 catalyst was attributed to a large specific surface area, appropriate alkalinity, and small Ni nanoparticles diameter with high dispersion.