Fe–Ce–Al\nCatalysts for Decomposition\nof Methane to High Purity Hydrogen and High-Value Carbon

Catalytic methane decomposition is a promising technique\nfor CO<sub><i>x</i></sub>-free hydrogen production and carbon\nnanomaterials.\nIn this research, iron-supported catalysts, prepared by successive\nwetness impregnation, were studied for methane decomposition at 700\n°C. The results showed that Fe<sup>0</sup> turned out to be the\nactive site and greater metal–support interaction led to the\nformation of iron aluminate (FeAl<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>), both\nof which played a role in the catalytic activity performance. The\n30Fe/Ce–Al catalyst performed the best catalytic activity in\nterms of maximum methane conversion (76%) and hydrogen production\nrate (1.04 mol/g<sub>Metal</sub>/s/surface area). The observation\nalso suggested that the 10Fe/Ce–Al catalyst significantly deactivated\ndue to metal particle agglomeration, as evidenced by negligible weight\nloss in thermogravimetric analysis. In contrast, the 20Fe/Ce–Al\nand 30Fe/Ce–Al catalysts were deactivated from both agglomeration\nand carbon deposition. The surface morphology analysis of the spent\ncatalyst indicated that the deposited carbon was multiwalled carbon\nnanotubes that followed the base-growth mechanism.