Pd Catalysts Supported on Bamboo-Like Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotubes for Hydrogen Production

Bamboo-like nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) were used to synthesize supported palladium catalysts (0.2–2 wt.%) for hydrogen production via gas phase formic acid decomposition. The beneficial role of nitrogen centers of N-CNTs in the formation of active isolated palladium ions and dispersed palladium nanoparticles was demonstrated. It was shown that although the surface layers of N-CNTs are enriched with graphitic nitrogen, palladium first interacts with accessible pyridinic centers of N-CNTs to form stable isolated palladium ions. The activity of Pd/N-CNTs catalysts is determined by the ionic capacity of N-CNTs and dispersion of metallic nanoparticles stabilized on the nitrogen centers. The maximum activity was observed for the 0.2% Pd/N-CNTs catalyst consisting of isolated palladium ions. A ten-fold increase in the concentration of supported palladium increased the contribution of metallic nanoparticles with a mean size of 1.3 nm and decreased the reaction rate by only a factor of 1.4.