Abstract
The cobalt catalysts supported on perovskite-type XCeO3 (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/XCeO3 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 degrees C. The catalyst 5Co-BaCeO (5 wt% Co impregnated on BaCeO3 support) showed the highest activity among the all other catalysts and the sequential order of exhibited NH3 conversion was as follows: 5Co-MgCeO < 5Co-CaCeO <= 5Co-SrCeO < 5Co-BaCeO. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, TPR, CO2-TPD and SEM techniques. The results showed that the interaction between BaCeO3 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.