High-entropy oxide supported Ru catalyst for robust ammonia decomposition

Ammonia decomposition has been recognized as an attractive pathway for hydrogen production; however, its highly-efficient activity at low temperatures remains great challenging which is strongly related to nanoparticle sizes, metal-support interaction and electronic properties. Herein, a high-entropy oxide {(Ce 0.2 La 0.2 Pr 0.2 Sm 0.2 Y 0.2 )O 2-y , HEO for short} with fluorite type structure was employed to support Ru species due to its unique effects induced by multicomponent configurations. The obtained Ru/HEO (1 wt%) achieved a high hydrogen formation rate of over 2747 mmol g Ru –1 min −1 under 500°C with 30,000 mL g cat –1 h −1 and stable activity with no obvious deactivation for over 100 h, outperforming most Ru-based catalysts. Detailed characterizations revealed that the constructed HEO interface promotes metal–support interactions and enhance feasible transfer of electrons, thus facilitating the activation of ammonia and desorption of nitrogen species. This work provides great potential of high-entropy materials in the design of advanced catalysts for energy conversion applications.