Effect of BaNH, CaNH, Mg3N2 on the activity of Co in NH3 decomposition catalysis

Development of active and non-noble metal-based catalyst for H2 production via NH3 decomposition is crucial for the implementation of NH3 as a H2 carrier. Co-based catalysts have received increasing attention because of its high intrinsic activity and moderate cost. In this work, we examined the effect of BaNH, CaNH and Mg3N2 on the catalytic activity of Co in the NH3 decomposition reaction. The H2 formation rate ranks the order as Co-BaNH > Co-CaNH > Co-Mg3N2 ≈ Co/CNTs within a reaction temperature range of 300–550 °C. It is worth pointing out that the H2 formation rate of Co-BaNH at 500 °C reaches 20 mmolH2 gcat–1 min–1, which is comparable to those of the active Ru/Al2O3 (ca. 17 mmolH2 gcat–1 min–1) and Ru/AC (21 mmolH2 gcat–1 min–1) catalysts under the similar reaction conditions. In-depth research shows that Co-BaNH exhibits an obviously higher intrinsic activity and much lower Ea (46.2 kJ mol–1) than other Co-based catalysts, suggesting that BaNH may play a different role from CaNH, Mg3N2 and CNTs during the catalytic process. Combined results of XRD, Ar-TPD and XAS show that a [Co–N–Ba]-like intermediate species is likely formed at the interface of Co metal and BaNH, which may lead to a more energy-efficient reaction pathway than that of neat Co metal for NH3 decomposition.