Doped Ni Thin Layer Catalysts for Catalytic Decomposition of Natural Gas to produce hydrogen Original Research Article

Doped Ni-based Thin Layer Catalysts (Ni-TLCs) for Catalytic Decomposition of Natural Gas (CDNG) were investigated using a new Multilayer Catalytic Reactor (MCR). The influence of K, La, Mg and Cl on activity–stability patterns of a Ni-TLC catalyst was evaluated. An inverse straight-line relationship between carbon capacity (C/Ni, number of CH4 molecules decomposed for Ni atom until complete deactivation) and reaction temperature was found independently of the dopant used. However, dopants significantly affect Ni specific activity (TOF, s−1), acting as either an electronic promoter or inhibiting Ni sintering phenomena. Reaction temperature is a key parameter in determining the evolution of coke. At low reaction temperature (<823 K), carbon whiskers form prevalently on “bare” and Mg, La, and Cl doped samples, whereas only the encapsulating carbon type formed on a K doped system. High hydrogen productivity was obtained on an Mg doped catalyst which, furthermore, proved to be the most stable system.