Catalytic Decomposition of Hydrazine and Hydrazine Derivatives to Produce Hydrogen-Containing Gas Mixtures: A Review

Hydrazine and hydrazine monohydrate are commonly used in various fields of science and technology. Conventionally, these reagents are used as reducing agents for heavy metals. Recent interest in hydrazine and hydrazine monohydrate is attributed to the problem of producing impurity-free hydrogen via the catalytic decomposition of these reagents. A large number of various catalyst systems exhibiting fundamentally different activity and selectivity in the formation of hydrogen have been tested in the decomposition of hydrazine and hydrazine monohydrate. The review provides a detailed systematization of these data and analysis of the causes of the differences in the properties of the different catalyst systems. The available data suggest that the main role in determining the process direction is played by the form of activation of hydrazine. In addition, results of studying the hydrazine decomposition mechanism at low and high temperatures are discussed. The test results discussed in the review show that hydrazine and hydrazine monohydrate are fairly promising for both storing hydrogen and producing impurity-free hydrogen for the efficient operation of fuel cells.