Catalytic efficiency of Nb and Nb oxides for hydrogen dissociation

In this letter, catalytic efficiency of Nb, NbO, Nb2O3, NbO2, and Nb2O5 for dissociation and recombination of hydrogen were experimentally investigated. On the surface of Nb and Nb oxides in a gas mixture of H2 and D2, H2 and D2 molecules can be dissociated to H and D atoms; then, H2, D2, and HD molecules can be produced according to the law of probability. With increase of frequency of the dissociation and recombination, HD ratio increases. The ratio of H2 and HD gas was analyzed by quadrupole mass spectrometry. As a result, NbO showed the highest catalytic activity towards hydrogen dissociation and recombination.