The Role of Support in Formic Acid Decomposition on Gold Catalysts

Abstract

Formic acid (FA) can easily be decomposed, affording molecular hydrogen through a controllable catalytic process, thus attaining great importance as a convenient hydrogen carrier for hydrogen energetics. Supported gold nanoparticles are considered to be among the most promising catalysts for such applications. However, questions remain regarding the influence of the catalyst support on the reaction selectivity. In this study, we have examined the catalytic activity of typical gold catalysts, such as Au/TiO2, Au/SiO2, and Au/Al2O3 in decomposition of FA, and then compared it with the catalytic activity of corresponding supports. The performance of each catalyst and support was evaluated using a gas-flow packed-bed reactor. It is shown that the target reaction, FA → H2 + CO2, is provided by the presence of gold nanoparticles, whereas the concurrent, undesirable pathway, such as FA → H2O + CO, results exclusively from the acid-base behavior of supports.