Size-dependent catalytic hydrogen production via methane decomposition and aromatization at a low-temperature using...

Catalysts of methane decomposition to hydrogen and aromatization are inevitable for the development of natural gas applications. Metal catalysts have been developed to achieve highly efficient methane decomposition and aromatization under 1000 K using various substrates, such as zeolites and silica. Here, we performed a consecutive study on methane decomposition using Co-, Ni-, Cu-, Mo-, and Ru-based nanocatalysts in the bulk, on a SiO₂ substrate, and in mesoporous SiO₂. The crystallite sizes of the bulk nanocatalysts, and nanocatalysts on nonporous and mesoporous SiO₂ were controlled to 80-85, 30-70, and 3-11 nm, respectively. The nanocatalysts on mesoporous SiO₂ exhibited high activity on hydrogen and benzene productions via methane decomposition, owing to the nanosize effect of the nanocatalysts and adsorption potentials in the SiO₂ mesopores. In particular, the Ni nanocatalysts on mesoporous SiO₂ exhibited hydrogen production activity from 650 K, which was the lowest temperature, compared with those in previous reports on hydrogen production. In addition, the catalytic activity was maintained for over 15 h at 650 and 800 K with recyclability. The overoxidation of Ni species in the SiO₂ mesopores might have promoted the transformation reaction of CH₄ to CH and prevented coking by the largeness of the SiO₂ mesopores in comparison with microporous media.