Tuning the Interaction Between Ru Nanoparticles and Nd₂O₃ to Enhance Hydrogen Formation from Ammonia Decomposition

Development of highly active and stable catalysts for production of CO_x-free hydrogen from ammonia is crucial for the use of ammonia as hydrogen carrier. Herein, Ru nanoparticles (NPs) on Nd₂O₃ (Ru/Nd₂O₃) was prepared by different methods and investigated for NH₃ decomposition reaction. The dependence of the catalytic activity of Ru NPs on the Nd₂O₃ on the interaction between Ru NPs and Nd₂O₃ support was investigated in detail. The Ru/Nd₂O₃ obtained from precipitation method exhibits a high hydrogen formation rate of 1548 mmol g_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹ at 450 °C, which is high than that of the Ru/Nd₂O₃ analogue from milling method and comparable with many efficient oxides supported Ru catalysts reported previously. As revealed by various characterization techniques, the high activity of Ru/Nd₂O₃ obtained from precipitation method can be attributed to the enhanced interaction between Ru NPs and Nd₂O₃. The Ru NPs in Ru/Nd₂O₃ analogue with enhanced the metal-support interaction can modulate electronic structure and facilitate the activation and decomposition of NH₃. Therefore, Ru/Nd₂O₃ obtained from precipitation method exhibited significantly improved activity and intrinsic activity for NH₃ decomposition. This study provides promise for the design of efficient Ru/Nd₂O₃ catalyst for NH₃ decomposition reaction by tuning the metal–support interaction of catalysts.