Ultrafine Ru Nanoparticles Supported on Mesoporous Silica for Hydrogen Production via Decomposition of Ammonia

Graphical Utilizing ruthenium-loaded amino-modified dendritic mesoporous silica microspheres (DMSMs) as catalysts for ammonia decomposition demonstrated outstanding activity at low temperatures. This is attributed to the distinctive mesoporous structure of DMSMs and the regulation of electronic structure through amino modification. In addition, the catalyst exhibited consistent catalytic activity throughout a 60 hour stability test. We reported metallic ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticles loaded on amino modified dendritic mesoporous silica microspheres (Ru/NH 2 -DMSMs) for ammonia decomposition to hydrogen. The sizes of the loaded Ru nanoparticles on carrier are 2–3 nm, providing rich active sites for ammonia decomposition reaction. As a result, the obtained Ru/NH 2 -DMSMs-5.1 can afford almost ~100 % ammonia decomposition at 550 °C, due to the unique mesoporous structure of DMSMs inhibiting the aggregation of active Ru nanoparticles and enhancing the mass transport of ammonia.