Ammonia decomposition over 3D-printed CeO2 structures loaded with Ni

Abstract

Binder-free ceria pastes have been formulated and used to prepare ceria structures with a woodpile arrangement of microchannels through 3D printing. After loading them with nickel, these catalytic structures have been tested for ammonia decomposition to obtain hydrogen, and their performance has been compared with those of conventional Ni/CeO2 powder catalysts and with that of a conventional cordierite honeycomb washcoated with Ni/CeO2. Samples have been characterized by N2 physisorption, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy. At the same reaction temperature and flow rate to catalyst weight ratio (F/W), the 3D-printed ceria structures show a catalytic activity much higher than that of the cordierite honeycomb on a reactor volume basis. Additive manufacturing represents a valuable tool to prepare customized ceria-based catalytic structures for practical application with a variety of geometries not attainable with conventional methods.