Preparation and Study of XCeO 3 ( X : Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) Perovskite-type oxide supported Cobalt Catalyst for Hydrogen Production by Ammonia Decomposition

The cobalt catalysts supported on perovskite-type XCeO 3 ( X : Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) oxide were prepared for the decomposition of ammonia. The influence of different alkaline earth metals in support composition on the catalytic activity of Co/XCeO 3 catalysts has been studied. A nominal 5 wt% Co loading was maintained over these perovskite supports. The catalytic ammonia decomposition performance was studied in the temperature range 300–600 °C. The catalyst 5Co–BaCeO (5 wt% Co impregnated on BaCeO 3 support) showed the highest activity among the all other catalysts and the sequential order of exhibited NH 3 conversion was as follows: 5Co–MgCeO < 5Co–CaCeO ≤ 5Co–SrCeO < 5Co–BaCeO. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, TPR, CO 2 -TPD and SEM techniques. The results showed that the interaction between BaCeO 3 and Co is beneficial to electron conductivity that promotes the catalytic activity of 5Co–BaCeO. The basicity of 5Co–BaCeO catalysts facilitates the re-combinative desorption of surface N atoms which help in enriching the ammonia decomposition.