Study on the Effect and Mechanism of Support Properties on Ru-Based Catalysts for Ammonia Decomposition

This paper mainly studied the influence of different supports on the activity of Ru-based catalysts. The catalytic activity test and physicochemical characterization showed that the Ru-based catalyst supported by Pr6O11 showed the best catalytic activity compared to Al2O3, TiO2, MnO2, and CeO2, which was contributed to the abundant oxygen vacancy on the surface of Pr6O11, ensuring the high charge transfer rate and its interaction with active Ru species by the strong metal support interaction. The abundant number of medium–strong alkaline sites on the surface of Pr6O11 compared to other supports is also one of the reasons for the high catalytic activity. Al2O3 exhibited much higher specific surface area and average pore diameter than other supports but did not show excellent catalytic activity, which indicated that the specific surface area and pore structure are not the key reasons for the catalytic activity of high ammonia decomposition hydrogen-producing catalysts.