(265d) Combustion Synthesis of an Active Catalyst for Hydrogen Production From Ethanol: Activity and EXAFS Studies

Combustion synthesis is a well
known technique for material synthesis and its application is widely growing
for the reason that it is a simple technique, less time consuming and economic
as it requires simple equipments. The present study uses combustion synthesis
to produce highly active multicomponent catalysts Cu_xFe_yNi_z for ethanol decomposition and
partial oxidation reaction [1]. In situ FTIR, XANES and EXAFS studies on
ethanol decomposition reaction reveals the intermediates formed during the
reaction as well as the oxidation states of Ni, Fe and Cu during reaction
conditions. These results along with the activity and selectivity results on
individual metals are important in terms of understanding the behavior of
individual phases and reaction pathway that leads to higher hydrogen production
and cleaner byproduct formation.

In situ reduction/oxidation
studies on CuNi bimetallic catalyst reveal the rapid changes in the oxidation
states of Cu (Fig 1) and Ni (not shown) during the pretreatments of the
catalyst. These results indicate that the dynamic complexity of the active
phase during reaction conditions, could be different than the freshly
synthesized material before exposure to reaction.

Figure 1: In situ reduction and re-oxidation of CuNi
bimetallic catalyst

References

1.      Kumar A., Mukasyan A. S., Wolf E.
E., Appl. Catal. A:
Gen. 401 (2011), pp. 20-28