Hydrogen production by NH3 decomposition at low temperatures assisted by surface protonics

Abstract

Ammonia, which can be decomposed on-site to produce CO₂-free H₂, is regarded as a promising hydrogen carrier because of its high hydrogen density, wide availability, and ease of transport. Unfortunately, ammonia decomposition requires high temperatures (>773 K) to achieve complete conversion, thereby hindering its practical applicability. Here, we demonstrate that high conversion can be achieved at markedly lower temperatures using an applied electric field along with a highly active and readily producible Ru/CeO₂ catalyst. Applying an electric field lowers the apparent activation energies, promotes low-temperature conversion, and even surpasses equilibrium conversion at 398 K, thereby providing a feasible route to economically attractive hydrogen production. Experimentally obtained results and neural network potential studies revealed that this reaction proceeds via HN–NH intermediate formation by virtue of surface protonics.