Ammonia Cracking Catalyzed by Ni Nanoparticles Confined in the Framework of CeO Support.

For the extraction of hydrogen from ammonia at low temperatures, we investigated Ni-based catalysts fabricated by the thermal decomposition of RNi intermetallics (R = Ce or Y). The interconnected microstructure formed via phase separation between the Ni catalyst and the resulting oxide support was observed to evolve via low-temperature thermal decomposition of RNi. The resulting Ni/CeO nanocomposite exhibited superior catalytic activity of ∼25% at 400 °C for NH cracking.